Band of Sisters - The Lost Stormtrooper Company
by Hoplite39
Summary: Unbeknown to most, there was one Stormtrooper company in the Palpatine era that was made up almost exclusively of women. That company was wiped out during the destruction of Alderaan. This is the story of the company's founding and annihilation. Told in reverse chronological order.
1. The Will of The Emperor

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STARWARS. THIS IS JUST FOR FUN.**

**Author's note: This is a spin-off from my story "Loyal Soldier of the Empire – Journal of an Imperial Stormtrooper. "**

**My idea is to do the story in reverse chronology. That is; starting from the end and moving back to the beginning. Given we all know what happens to Alderaan, this format makes sense. At some points it may cross over with the "Loyal Soldier" story mentioned above.**

**Please feel free to leave a review and let me know if you like the concept.**

CHAPTER 1 – THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR

ALDERAAN HIGH COUNCIL BUILDING – ZERO HOUR MINUS 14 MINUTES

Lieutenant Gloria Corianna looked out from the devastated entrance hall of the High Council building to the barricades outside. All around, the walls of the once previous grand reception area were pot-marked and scarred from blaster fire. On the floor, a number of civilians, High Council guards and imperial stormtroopers lay dead where they had been cut down during the recent fighting.

Although she was covered from head to toe in full stormtrooper armour, Corianna looked cautiously around the side of the damaged archway of the building entrance. The enemy blaster fire had proved to be accurate in the most recent engagements. However, she did not expect an attack from the Alderaan forces outside. Not with their leader, Bail Organa, as hostage.

Corianna glanced over at the four stormtroopers nearby who were also watching out for any sign of attack. Like her, each of them was wearing standard stormtrooper armour and was armed with an E-11 blaster. Each one of them was also female. They were members of the first and only all-female stormtrooper company to be founded in imperial galactic history. And the way things were going, it would almost certainly be the last.

A few hours before, her platoon of 39 troopers had stormed the High Council building under orders from stormtrooper high command, slaughtering guards, civilians and councillors alike. They had successfully cleared the building and captured the rebel leader, Bail Organa. But they had suffered heavy casualties, losing over thirty stormtroopers in the operation.

Only six troopers were now able to fight. Corianna herself, the four troopers in the reception area and one trooper guarding Bail Organa in a side office. The current commander of the operation, Captain Victoria Rodano, was gravely injured. For a world that was supposedly pacifist, the Aldaraan guards had put up heavy resistance and caused them casualties. Not that any of it would matter soon. In a few minutes time, Corianna knew that everyone would be dead.

"Lieutenant!" Corianna heard the voice of Captain Rodano calling to her. Dutifully, Corianna left her post and crouched down beside her commanding officer who was lying slumped against a pillar. She was badly wounded with blaster wounds in her stomach and left thigh.

"Yes, captain."

The Captain took off her stormtrooper helmet revealing her short brown regulation hair and her brown eyes. Corianna also took of her helmet. The two young women looked at each other for a moment. Both were only in their early twenties. Both in the prime of their lives.

Rodano coughed weakly, a trickle of blood rolling from her lips.

"It's over for me, Lieutenant." The captain spoke haltingly, weak from her wounds. "You must finish this."

"Yes, Captain." Corianna answered dutifully.

"You must shoot me now, Lieutenant. We are not permitted to be taken prisoner." Rodano smiled weakly as she spoke, obviously thinking of how ridiculous her words sounded. Her pale face reflected the rays of the afternoon sunlight that was streaming through the ruined entrance of the High Council building.

"Yes, Captain."

"You will have to complete the mission, Lieutenant. They have sent the signal. You know what to do."

"Yes, Captain."

The Lieutenant put on her helmet and stood up in front of her wounded Captain. The Lieutenant lifted her blaster and aimed at Rodano's heart.

"Aim true, Lieutenant." Rodano said, invoking the universal phrase used by stormtroopers when they were duty bound to shoot at a target they didn't really want to. "And serve the Emperor well."

Corianna waited until Rodano had put her helmet back on. Rodano wanted to die with honour. On the battle field and in full armour. She would die an imperial stormtrooper. A loyal servant of the Emperor.

"Yes, Lieutenant. I will."

Corianna fired and pierced Rodano's heart with one well placed blaster bolt. Corianna contemplated her dead captain for a few seconds. Then she turned briskly away and spoke to one of the troopers.

"Trooper! Go and bring out the prisoner. It's time to finish this." Like all stormtroopers, both male and female, Corianna spoke with a generic synthesised male voice generated by her helmet.

"Yes, sir." Replied the female trooper in the same voice.

The trooper walked through a doorway into a small office. A few seconds later, Bail Organa appeared accompanied by two stormtroopers; the one who went to fetch him and another who had been guarding him in the office. Although he was in his elegant official robes, Bail Organa did not look very statesmanlike at that moment. He was covered in dust and grime and his clothes were dishevelled. He was also bound by the hands, gagged and blind-folded. However, apart from receiving a few bruises from being roughly pushed around by the troopers, he was otherwise unharmed.

The two stormtroopers roughly grabbed Bail Organa by his arms and brought him before Corianna. Corianna grabbed Organa and shoved him towards the front entrance of the senate building. The other five stormtroopers followed behind them.

They all exited the building into the sunlight and clear skies announcing a beautiful sunny afternoon in Alderaan. As they walked into the open, they heard the sound of blasters being readied as the Alderaan security forces outside prepared to fire. Corianna guided Organa down the steps in front of her. The other five troopers fanned out to her flanks and readied their weapons. None of the stormtroopers made any attempt to take any sort of cover.

For a moment, there was complete silence as the stormtroopers faced the Alderaan troopers crouching behind their barricades and vehicles on the esplanade below. Then after a few seconds, Corianna removed Organa's bonds, blindfold and gag.

"Go!" Corianna ordered Organa in her synthesised male voice. She pushed Bail Organa towards his own forces. He hesitated for a moment and looked back, fearful that Corianna or one of the other stormtroopers would shoot him in the back. But he saw that Corianna was holding her blaster in one hand, deliberately pointing it towards the sky. Realising she was standing in a non-threatening stance, Bail Organa turned and walked briskly towards his own men. Then after a brief moment, he disappeared behind the safety of the barricades.

Lieutenant Corriana waited until she was sure he was gone.

"Drop your weapons and surrender!" A male voice shouted from the barricades.

Lieutenant Corianna observed the barricades bristling with guns before her. She had no intention of surrendering. Corianna had released Bail Organa for one simple reason. She had only been ordered to capture and hold him until the signal from high command was received. Now that she had received the signal, there was no need to detain him further.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads now! Or we will use deadly force."

Corianna ignored the threat. She was not afraid of the Alderaan guns. After all, they would all soon be dead anyway. But her mission was not completely over. There was one last order she still had to fulfil. One last order she would carry out in the name of the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine. She had been ordered to fight to the last man; the last woman. She and her troopers would obey that order and fulfil the will of the Emperor.

"This is your last chance to surrender. Or we will open fire."

Corianna didn't give the Alderann troopers an opportunity to fire first. With a movement of her hand, she gave the attack order to her sister troopers. She and all five of her remaining troopers began advancing down the steps. Then all at once, they opened fire on the men hidden behind the barricades in front of them.

At first there was a hesitation from the Alderaan security forces, as if they were in shock that the stoormtroopers had opened fire on them. For a few seconds, the stormtrooper blaster bolts rained down on the barricades without provoking a response. But the Alderaan troopers did not hesitate long. Soon they returned fire from behind their barricades, putting the advancing stormtroopers immediately under a hail of heavy blaster bolts. Caught out in the open, the stormtroopers stood no chance.

To the left and right of her, Corianna's troopers fell as they came under withering blaster fire from the Alderaan forces. She heard the impacts of multiple blaster shots hitting her fellow troopers and the loud crash as their armoured bodies fell clattering down the steps in front of the High Council building.

Almost immediately, Corianna was also hit as several blaster bolts slammed into her body or deflected off her armour. One bolt hit her in the right thigh. She continued advancing and firing. But then she received three bolts in succession. The bolt to her stomach made her stumble. The bolt to her right shoulder caused her blaster to fly out of her hand. The bolt to the right side of the chest propelled her back onto the hard marble steps. Gravely wounded, Corianna lay on her back as blaster fire continued to fill the air. After a few short seconds, all six stormtroopers were lying still on the ground.

Someone ordered the Alderaan troopers to cease fire. Corianna lay on the marble steps in pain and found herself breathing with great difficulty. Still barely conscious, Corianna heard footsteps approach her. She managed to raise her head to see a number of men standing around her. She recognised Bail Organa flanked by a handful of Alderaan guards.

Wanting to see the sun and the clear sky one last time with her own eyes, Corianna removed her helmet and laid it on the steps beside her. Bail Organa and his guards gasped in surprise. It wasn't so much the fact that she was a young female woman that surprised them. Female stormtroopers were uncommon, but they were not unheard of. What really surprised them was that a stormtrooper wearing the insignia of a Lieutenant was female. That was hitherto unheard of in Palpatine's Galactic Empire.

Corianna laughed to herself at their surprise. She wondered how shocked they would be if they realised that every single armoured stormtrooper who had fought in the High Council building and in the private spaceport for the last few hours was female. Not only that, but the Company Captain was also female. Not that anyone would live long enough to realise that of course.

"Why?" Bail Organa asked Corianna, crouching in front of her. "Why did you attack us?"

Corianna coughed weakly. "Because it was the will of the Emperor."

For the second time, Bail Organa and his guards looked shocked as they heard Corianna speak in the well-spoken accent of the Alderaan middle class. Bail Organa looked back at his guards who had raised their eye-brows. Then he turned back to Corianna again.

"Who are you?" Asked Bail Organa.

With an expression of determination, Corianna looked up at Bail Organa and spoke from her heart. It was not the answer Bail Organa expected or wanted to hear. Corianna gave the only answer that made sense to her existence. The only answer that gave sense to the actions she had committed that day. She repeated her solemn vow the Emperor.

"My name is Gloria Leyton-Corianna of Alderaan. I am, and always will be, a loyal soldier of the Galactic Empire. There is only rule: Obedience to the Emperor. There is only one punishment for failure: Death."

Bail Organa looked at her with a perplexed expression on her face. "Why did you attack us, Lieutenant Corianna?"

"You have failed the Emperor. Alderaan has failed the Emperor." Was all that Corianna said in response.

"Alderaan has failed the Emperor? I don't understand." Bail Organa almost cried out. "Why did you attack us?"

"To make sure that you could not escape." The end was coming for them all. Corianna did not see any sense in holding back information now.

"You mean me? To ensure that I could not escape. But I would never abandon my people."

"No. Not just you. All of Alderaan."

Corianna's eyes drifted to a point in the sky behind Bail Organa's shoulder. It looked like a dimly lit star shining in the Alderaan afternoon sky. But the star she looked at was not just any celestial body. It was not of natural formation. It was man-made. The size of a small sized moon.

Bail Organa turned his eyes to where Corianna was looking. Then in a moment of lucidity and understanding, it dawned on him what she was looking at. He realised she was looking at the Death Star.

"No!" Cried Bail Organa in despair. He looked back at Corianna. She smiled at him. But it was not a malicious or gloating smile. It was a smile reflecting the deepest sadness. The deepest pity. The deepest sorrow. It was a melancholic smile filled with compassion and regret.

"That's why you attacked the High Council and the spaceports." The terrible truth dawned on Bail Organa. You wanted to keep us from escaping. To ensure we are here when it came for us."

Her eyes watering heavily and her young female features as pale as death, Corianna's gaze drifted back to the beautiful colours of the Alderaan sky. She was happy to have taken off her helmet so that she could look on her homeworld one final time before it would be no more. A final farewell from a daughter of Alderaan to her mother planet.

She looked at the Death Star as it hovered in the sky. She wondered if Yalasa and Harmony were still there. The only two female troopers to refuse Lieutenant Denlin's offer to serve on Alderaan. Corianna wondered if Yalasa and Harmony were looking down on them at this moment. Safe in the Death Star. Ready to fight one more day for the Emperor. She hoped so.

In desperation, Bail Organa turned back to look at Corianna?

"But why?" He asked in vain desperation, putting his hands to his head. "Why kill two billion innocent people? Why kill a planet? Why?"

Corianna did not meet his gaze, but continued gazing at the Death Star. There was only one possible answer to that question. The only answer that ever mattered.

"Because it is the will of the Emperor." She said softly. A solitary tear roled down her cheek.

"No you can't do this!" Pleaded Bail Organa. But his words would fall on deaf ears. His fate, and that of his homeworld, were already sealed.

Corianna continued looking past Bail Organa at the Death Star glowing dimly in the Alderaan sky. Then suddenly, there was a bright flash and Lieutenant Gloria Leyton-Corianna of Alderaan found herself bathed in a blinding white light.

Corianna always wondered what she would experience at the point of her death. She knew there was no paradise after death. She understood that the only true paradise was to serve the Emperor in life. But she still wondered if she would be bathed in the Emperor's light and wisdom. She wondered if she would meet her fellow fallen troopers to serve the Emperor beyond death. She wondered if she would have visions of her family.

But Corianna experienced none of that. When death came to collect her, all she found was darkness.

Then there was nothing. And the planet of Alderaan was no more.

* * *

**Ending Note**

**Please note that the characters of Yalasa, Harmony and Denlin all feature in my other story "Loyal Soldier of the Empire – Journal of an Imperial Stormtrooper. "**


	2. Deception

**Author's note: On reading the Wikipedia, I realised I made a little mistake with terminology in the first chapter. The principal government chamber of Alderaan is called the High Council, and not called the Senate as I first mentioned in Chapter 1. So I have corrected chapter 1 and will now refer to the Alderaan government chambers as the High Council from now on.**

**This story is going in reverse chronological order. However, for obvious reasons the first three chapters will take place at about the same time.**

CHAPTER 2 – DECEPTION

ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF ALDERAAN

ALDERAAN CAPITAL CITY – COMMERCIAL SPACEPORT

Lieutenant Silvia Loreno couldn't help scratching the skin of her wrist underneath the cuff of her shirt. She was wearing the distinctive livery of the Alderaan armed forces. The uniform was brand new and she found the material irritable. It was very different to the uniform of she was normally used to wearing.

She looked around the control room of the commercial spaceport in the Alderaan capital city. Everything was calm. Six female guards from Loreno's platoon equipped with A280 blaster rifles and wearing Alderaan military uniforms were also in the control room, watching over the handful of civilian employees who were quietly working at their monitors and work stations. A couple of Loreno's troopers were also manning work-stations, monitoring radar and flight traffic in the area. Like Loreno, all her guards were also wearing the black helmet, blue shirt, black combat vest and black calf-length boots of the Alderaan armed forces. Each one of them wore the emblem of the First Company of the Royal Leia Organa Battalion. The first all-female Alderaan military unit to be raised in honour of the deceased Princess Leia Organa.

Loreno walked casually around the control room observing the civilians going calmly about their work. As she past one of her guards, she couldn't help herself looking at the unit emblem emblazoned on the black combat tunic of one of her troopers. The emblem really caught the eye. It showed a white image of Alderaan surrounded by two white rings. Loreno found herself wondering who had come up with such a ridiculous unimaginative symbol.

But of course, the design of military emblems were not of any concern, nor importance, for Lieutenant Silvia Loreno. She was only concerned with ensuring that she and her fellow female troopers carried out their duty as ordered by their commanding officers.

So far the operation had gone very well. In fact, it had gone much more smoothly than she had anticipated. She knew a famous leader had once said that any battle plan never survives contact with the enemy. So far, everything had gone completely to plan. Probably due to the fact that there was no enemy in sight.

With imperial stormtroopers launching violent attacks on the High Council building and the private spaceport normally used by VIPs and government officials, Loreno's unit had been dispatched to evacuate, lock-down and defend the primary commercial spaceport. So far, all had gone smoothly. The civilian director had cooperated with them without hesitation and had followed all her advice and instructions. Now, the installation was in full lock-down with all traffic suspended and all non-essential personnel evacuated from the facility.

As expected, the law-abiding and conscientious Alderaan civilians and employees had evacuated the spaceport in an orderly fashion. All recognised that they had to leave for their own safety in case the imperials stormtroopers attacked the spaceport. Only the spaceport Director, a few senior employees and some security personnel were required to stay behind to ensure that the facility was kept secure and maintained a minimum level of operation.

Loreno was pleased to note that the civilian employees who stayed behind had remained calm and professional. Although they were clearly concerned about the news of heavy fighting in the High Council building and the private spaceport, they appeared relieved that the female troopers of the Organa 1st were there to protect them.

Of course, Loreno understood that she was not there to protect the civilians. She was there to defend the spaceport against any hostile attack. A mission she and her troopers would carry out, even if it meant fighting to the last woman. However, at the moment all the enemy's focus seemed to be on the High Council Building and the Private Spaceport. They obviously did not believe that the commercial spaceport was a priority.

Loreno's reflections were interrupted abruptly when the door of the control room sished open and Sergeant-Major Suzie Samson briskly entered the room. Loreno sensed immediately that there was something wrong.

"May I speak to you for a moment, Lieutenant?" Asked Samson politely in her Alderaan accent.

"Yes, of course, Sergeant-Major." Loreno was already heading for the exit. She addressed a trooper before leaving. "Take over the control room, Sergeant."

"Yes, sir."

As soon as they were outside and walking down the corridor, Loreno addressed Samson.

"Status report, Sergeant-Major!"

Samson hesitated a moment, before answering. Loreno gave her a side-ways glance waiting for her response.

"It is the Director, Lieutenant?"

"Yes?"

"He is on the roof?"

"What!" Loreno stopped in her tracks. Samsan had to stop herself abruptly. "How did he get away from his guards?"

"He gave them the slip, sir." Samson answered cautiously.

Loreno sighed with frustration. The Director had asked to leave the control room under pretext to pick up some documents from his office. Loreno had let him go, but insisted that two of her troopers accompanied to him as protection. She realised now that he had planned to escape. Although, it occurred to her that going to a heavily monitored location like the spaceport roof seemed the worst place to hide. Unless of course he was trying to get a message to hostile forces.

"What is he doing up there?" Asked Loreno.

"He is observing the sky with a pair of macro-binoculars, sir."

Loreno frowned. "Has there been any indication of incoming ships?"

"No, sir." Samson's reply was confident. "No. All military traffic is heading towards the combat zones in the centre of the city. Nothing is heading here."

"What can he be doing?" Loreno asked herself.

"Shall I take a squad up to the roof and detain him, sir?"

Loreno stood thinking to herself for a few seconds.

"No, I'll do it. Send me two troopers. You take my post in the control room. I want to see for myself what our Director is up to"

A few minutes later, Lorena and an escort of two troopers stepped out of the turbo-lift and walked out into the open air on the spaceport roof. Not far, they could see the spaceport Director still looking up towards the clear afternoon Alderaan sky through a pair of macro-binoculars.

The three female troopers advanced towards him for a few yards. Then Loreno ordered a halt and turned to address the two troopers.

"Hold position here. Only take action if you receive a direct order from me. If he attacks me, you are ordered to open fire and shoot to kill. Do not be concerned for my safety."

"Yes, sir." The two young women said in unison.

Lorena left the troopers and walked up to the Director who was still gazing at the sky through his macro-binoculars.

"What are you doing Director Corianna?" Asked Loreno dryly.

The unarmed man standing before Lorena continued to look at the sky for a moment. Loreno waited patiently for an answer, her right hand caressing the butt of the holstered DH-17 blaster pistol, the side-arm of preference in the Alderaan military. Director Hubert Corianna was still gazing at the sky when he started talking.

"It is a beautiful day, isn't it Lieutenant?" Corianna lowered the binoculars and looked at Loreno. "You can see the magnificent beauty of Alderaan from here. Isn't it wonderful. The lush vibrant forests. The rolling green hills. The majestic mountains on the horizon. Yes, the beauty of nature is truly spectacular."

Loreno didn't look at the beauty of the Alderaan wilderness. But she did notice the sound of blaster fire coming from centre of the city where the hastily organised Alderaan defence forces were frantically battling the imperial stormtroopers in the centre of the capital city. Loreno knew that many of her fellow troopers were involved in the most important battle of their lives.

"You know, when I heard of the imperial attack." Corianna looked over at the pall of smoke rising over the magnificent buildings of the city in the distance. I assumed at first that there would be an invasion? I thought the Empire had come chastise Alderaan at the point of a blaster."

Loreno pondered the man's words for a moment. She had never really considered the reason for the imperial attacks. She was only concerned with carrying out her orders. But the possibility of an imperial invasion had crossed her mind.

"So I was happy when you turned up with your unit, Lieutenant. I realised that I had an opportunity to save lives and keep my people safe."

"Why have you come up here, Director Corianna?" Asked Loreno again, this time more insistently.

"I have been monitoring military chatter while in the control room as you instructed us to, Lieutenant. I heard rumours concerning the attack on Alderaan. So I arranged to leave the control room. I wanted to come up here and see if the rumours were true. "

Loreno knew that she should detain Corianna immediately and put him in a detention cell. She also took note to reprimand the guards assigned to him. But before she could take action, Corianna spoke again. He seemed to have read her mind.

"Oh please don't blame your guards for letting me slip away. I am sure they were under orders to observe me from a discrete distance. You must admit that I would not be a good Director if I could not slip away from a couple of bodyguards in my own spaceport."

Loreno had to admit that he had a point. She had assigned the guards ostensibly for his protection. She had told them to hold back and refrain from being too forceful. Loreno wondered if her own inexperience as a rookie lieutenant had allowed this troublesome situation to happen. She inwardly cursed herself for her ignorance and inexperience.

"Of course, I realise they would be instructed to ensure that I do not contact the enemy. Do not worry, Lieutenant. I have not contacted anyone on the outside and I have no intention of doing so. It is all too late anyway, I fear."

Loreno pondered again if she should detain Corianna. But she decided against it. He was unarmed and there was no reason to believe he was trying to contact the enemy. After all, she was the mission commander now. She had the discretion to conduct the operation in the most expedient and effective way possible. She decided that it may be worthwhile to listen to what Corianna had to say. On the roof-top, he would likely speak openly. He could give her information that could contribute to the successful completion of her mission.

"So, Director Corianna? What are these rumours?" Asked Loreno.

"I heard the Death Star is here."

Lorena considered that suggestion a feasible possibility. After all, it would be logical for the imperials to use the Death Star as a base for the invasion of Alderaan.

"But that is not why I came up here, Lieutenant."

"Oh? And why did you come up here then, Director Corianna?" Loreno wondered if she had been wise to assume that Corianna was not in contact with the enemy. It could all be a charade. A deception.

"I just came up to see my world for one last time." Corianna turned to look at the wilderness in the distance. "While it is still beautiful. While it is still free. While it still exists."

Loreno stayed silent and looked at the man standing in front of her. For a moment, she wondered what he meant. Especially the part about Alderaan 'still existing'. Again, Loreno was tempted to end this conversation right away and march Corianna off to the detention cell. But she had the impression he was being sincere. She decided that as the commanding officer of this mission, she was duty bound to find out what Corianna knew or suspected. It could be critical to the success of her mission.

"What do you mean, Director Corianna?"

Corianna looked at Loreno intently for a moment.

"Why are you here, Lieutenant? Why have they sent you to guard this facility?"

"I just follow my orders, Director Corianna. I do not need to know what is happening." Answered Loreno dryly. "And neither do you."

"Yes. I guess I should have expected you to say that, Lieutenant." Corianna chuckled. But it was a chuckle void of any joy. Loreno just looked at him coldly. She began to suspect that Corianna knew a lot more than he had let on.

"You know, you almost had me fooled, Lieutenant." Corianna smiled and looked to the sky again. "It was an inspired idea to disguise yourselves as female Alderaan military".

Loreno's blood froze. She glared at Corianna, her hand moving slowly to the holster of her blaster pistol.

"What are you insinuating, Director Corianna." Loreno's voice had a menacing tone to it.

"After all, who would suspect that a group of female soldiers could be imperial stormtroopers in disguise." Corianna spoke in a friendly and sincere tone. "And you even used officers and NCOs with Alderaan accents. Just brilliant!"

Loreno's felt her grip on the handle of her blaster pistol tighten. She was tempted to draw her weapon. But she stopped herself. She had to find out what he knew while he was willing to speak freely. And while he was out of ear-shot of the others.

"The 1st Leia Organa Company." Corianna smiled thoughtfully. "Now that was a true stroke of genius. It makes me wonder if there is really is such a unit in existence. You know, there is a rumour that the Princess put herself through a Stormtrooper training course here on Alderaan. It just makes your ruse all the more plausible."

Corianna saw Loreno's hand on her blaster. He smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant. I am not going to flee. Or contact the Alderaan military. Or attack you. It's too late for that now, I fear. "

Loreno was still seriously considering drawing her blaster and detaining or even shooting him. But she stopped herself. She realised that Corianna was right. There was no reason to perceive him as a threat. Thus there was no reason to detain him, at least for now. There was no sign of any enemy activity and all was calm. She had time to listen. Besides from that, she was curious as to what he had to say.

"And please don't take action against the rest of my people. They still believe you are there to protect them. They are obeying your instructions. And they will continue to do so. You have my word on that."

Loreno believed he spoke the truth. The civilians in the facility had all wilingly cooperated and obeyed instructions given to them. They still seemed to believe her troopers were from the Alderaan military.

"I doubt any of the others suspect the truth. Most will believe you are Alderaan military because they want to. Others because they genuinely feel protected by your presence. So please don't take any rash action from my words."

"I have no orders to kill or detain anyone, Director Corianna." Responded Loreno flatly. "I am only required to secure and lock-down the facility."

"I am pleased to hear that, Lieutenant. You know, at first I thought you might be ISB. But the ISB do not employ females in combat roles and would never act with such restraint. Nor would they attack unless backed up by considerable support. Besides, I suspect any ISB agent would be long gone if they had any suspicion of what is about to happen here."

Loreno didn't say anything. But she couldn't help agreeing with him about the ISB. She regarded the ISB as a bunch of arrogant self-righteous cowards. She had even said it a couple of times and it had gotten her into trouble.

"I also dismissed the possibility that you were from the imperial army straight away." Mused Corianna. "They too do not deploy females in combat roles. So that only leaves one possibility. Imperial Stormtroopers."

"Have you ever seen a female stormtrooper Lieutenant, Director Corianna?" Countered Loreno.

"No." Admitted Corianna."Not until today. You must have really risen up the ranks in the last couple of weeks. What were you before, Lieutenant? A corporal? A regular trooper?"

Loreno reflected that she was indeed a regular trooper only a few days ago. She had received a direct promotion from trooper to Lieutenant. One of the fastest rises in rank in the history of the stormtrooper corps. Despite her conditioning, Loreno felt herself flinch at what Corianna said. Corianna seemed to notice.

"Oh, don't blame yourself, Lieutenant. I know a lot about stormtroopers. I almost became one."

Loreno looked at the man in front of her, only barely hiding her surprise. She could not imagine the man in front of her going through the rigorous training and conditioning of an imperial stormtrooper.

"Yes, I know it's hard to believe it looking at me now." Said Corianna. "I joined up with my sister, Gloria. But I soon realised I was not cut out for war. I could not stomach the violence and brutality. In fact, after I left I became a pacifist. That is why I came back here and took on a civilian role."

At last, Loreno was beginning to understand the motivations of the Director. He was a pacifist. He did not want his people to be caught up in a battle. That is why he had accepted the aid of Loreno's unit so easily. Not because he was fooled. Not because he was a coward. But because he wanted to save the lives of those around him.

"That is how I recognised you. You are far too disciplined to be trainees in an Alderaan military unit. You need more than a pretty uniform to pretend to be a rookie. The way you stand. The way you walk. The way you hold your rifles. The empty look in your eyes. The way you speak. The way you never smile ..."

Loreno and her commanding officers knew that there was always a risk that someone may notice that did not look or act like typical Alderaan troopers. After all you cannot undo years of intense conditioning in a couple of days. However, they expected that most people would accept and indeed welcome the 'protection' of a disciplined force of troopers in Alderaan livery. Especially with fully armoured imperial stormtroopers openly attacking other parts of the city.

"But it was not just that. There were other signs. The way your troopers say 'sir' to their female commanders. An Alderaan trooper would never act like that. But I have seen it all before when I was a trainee officer on Carida."

Loreno admitted to herself that Corianna's reasoning made sense. And it just demonstrated to her how much she had lost touch with her home-world.

"...and the time it took your reinforcements to leave the shuttle. I bet that shuttle is full of stormtrooper armour and E-11 Blaster rifles. It takes time to change out of stormtrooper armour in an enclosed space. Believe me, I know."

Despite herself, Loreno began to feel a large amount of respect for the man in front of her. She had always believed that pacifists were weak and deluded. In fact, she still believed it. But she did recognise that Corianna did have a lot of courage and conviction.

"And I must thank you, Lieutenant."

"Thank me, Director?" For just moment, Loreno's eyes widened with surprise.

"You could have caused a blood-bath here today. But you didn't. You let everyone believe that they are safe. At least they will not end their days in the terror, pain and violence of a stormtrooper assault. Believe me, I appreciate that. You all showed remarkable self-restraint. And you demonstrated remarkable leadership, Lieutenant. And I say that with true sincerity."

Despite herself, Loreno couldn't help feeling flattered by the complement. Of course, she had only spared the civilians because it was in the parameters of her mission objectives. If she had been ordered to gun down innocent civilians, she would have done so without hesitation. And she would still do it now if ordered or required to do so.

"Of course, I realise that there is no generosity on your part. You are only following orders. And I understand that your ruse here only works because your comrades are slaughtering people in other parts of the city. Indeed, your comrades are acting in the way that everyone expects of stormtroopers."

Corianna chuckled and shook his head. "But no one expects stormtroopers to walk in the front door and ask politely to enter like you did, Lieutenant."

"Except you, Director Corianna." Loreno could not help feeling a hint of admiration for the man. She considered it a great pity that Corianna did not served the Empire as he had originally planned.

"Yes, except me, Lieutenant."

"So what do you think will happen now, Director Corianna." Although Loreno spoke in a slightly mocking tone, she was interested to hear what he had to say.

Corianna didn't answer immediately. Instead he offered Loreno his macro-binoculars. Corianna took them and used them to looked up at the sky. In the distance, she could clearly make out the shape and features of the Death Star.

"In Carida, we were told about the Death Star. They say that the Death Star can destroy a planet." Said Corianna as Loreno continued looking up at the sky.

"Now ask yourself this, Lieutenant. If the attacks were the precursor to an invasion, why did the imperials attack with such little force? Why attack only the spaceports and the High Council? But the biggest question is this. Why did they not attack the facilities that generate the planetary shield? Surely that would be the first target if there was to be an invasion. Do you not think so, lieutenant?"

Lorano gave Corianna back his macrobinoculars.

"So what do you believe the imperials will do now, Director Corianna?" Said Loreno, as if still keeping up the charade.

"Oh, surely that is obvious even to you, Lieutenant. They intend to destroy the whole planet."

Loreno continued looking up at the tiny dimly lit point of light in the sky. She did not say a word. In her heart, she knew that Corianna was probably right. She recognised that Corianna's reasoning made sense.

"So is my sister, Gloria, with you?" Asked the Director. "Of course she is not on this spaceport otherwise my people and I would already be dead. I suspect she is in the private spaceport or perhaps the High Council building."

Corianna stopped talking for a moment as if awaiting a response. Loreno looked at him. She realised that nothing she said now would make any difference. Nothing she said now would cause her to fail her mission. Her mission to hold the spaceport against enemy attack at all costs. To defend it from attacks launched by the rebel military."

"Lieutenant Corianna is in the High Council building." Loreno confirmed flatly.

"Yes, I suspected she would be there." The Director's voice almost seemed choked with pride. "She would always want to be in the thick of the action. In the eye of the storm."

Loreno's gaze drifted across the beautiful landscape of her home planet. For the first time in years, she was almost overcome by a wave of nostalgia for the beautiful world from which she came. She just stood there staring at her lost home. Corianna looked at Loreno and recognised the sorrow in her eyes.

"You really did not know that this would happen, did you?" He said softly. "You truly did not know what they planned to do."

"No."

"Then you were deceived, Lieutenant Loreno." For the first time, Loreno heard a bitter tone in Corianna's voice. "We were all deceived today. One way or another."

"No. I was not deceived." Loreno shook her head and spoke with conviction. "My mission was to hold this facility until relieved by imperial forces. It does not matter what form that relief may take. I achieved the mission assigned to me. I fulfilled the will of the Emperor. And if the Emperor wills it that I die this day, then I die with honour."

Loreno turned to face Corianna and laid her hand on the butt of her blaster pistol.

"I will die facing my enemy with my hand on my blaster. That is all I can ask."

Corianna shook his head with sadness and looked deeply into Loreno's eyes. He contemplated the young woman before her.

"I am not your enemy, Lieutenant."

Just at that moment, the deadly blast from the death star struck Alderaan. Lieutenant Silvia Loreno and her platoon of female troopers were blown to atoms along with everyone else on the planet.

In securing the public spaceport on Alderaan without a single casualty on either side, Lieutenant Silvia Loreno had led one of the most successful and bloodless operations in the history of the imperial stormtrooper corps. With the destruction of Alderaan, Loreno's achievement was consigned to oblivion.


	3. Last Stand

CHAPTER 3 – LAST STAND

ALDERAAN PRIVATE SPACEPORT

ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF ALDERAAN

Sergeant Delfeena LaShatelle took aim from the balcony with her DTL-19 Heavy Blaster rifle and fired another burst at the rebels swarming forward on the esplanade below. She grinned with satisfaction behind her stormtrooper helmet as yet another rebel was hit by one of her blaster rounds. After being spun round by the power of the impact, the man fell on his face and joined the ever growing pile of rebel bodies littering the ground. Another rebel chalked up for her kill count.

Not that Delfeena was keeping count. She would have liked to be able to count the number of rebels she killed and keep a record. But she didn't have the time for that just now. She was far too busy killing rebels to count them.

Delfeena had not used the DTL-19 in a combat operation before. Normally she used the standard E-11 blaster rifle which was ideal for close quarter fire fights. But she had to admit that the DTL-19 was superior weapon for mid-range engagements like the one she was involved in now. The DTL-19 was more powerful and accurate. Simply put, it did more damage with less ammunition at medium range.

Delfeena was of course trained in the use of a wide range of blaster weapons, both imperial and otherwise. But like most of the troopers she served with, she was more used to storming and breaking enemy lines in rapid surgical assaults. The E-11 was ideal for such standard stormtrooper assault missions. But of course, this was no normal assault mission. In fact, for the first time Delfeena could remember, she was on the defending side. Normally, stormtroopers did the attacking.

This was also by far the longest battle she had been involved in. In previous engagements, the enemy had broken after a few minutes of receiving intense stormtrooper fire. But this battle had lasted over two hours, with the exception of the odd lull in the fighting.

The air around was filled with the sound and sight of multi-coloured blaster rounds flying in all directions as rebel forces and imperial stormtroopers desperately battled each other for control of the private spaceport in the capital city of Alderaan. From all around the semi-circled shaped balcony, Delfeena's sister stormtroopers fired down at the rebels on the esplanade below. The rebels returned fire, trying desperately to hit the stormtroopers crouched behind the balcony wall above them.

Delfeena smirked to herself as she watched the attacking rebels trying desperately to take cover in the wide open space below. The private spaceport seemed to have been perfectly designed to defend against infantry assault. However, Delfeena was fairly certain that the architects did not have military defence consideration in mind when they drew up the plans for the building.

Admittedly, there was now some limited cover available to the rebel attackers from the piles of dead bodies, wrecked vehicles and rubble that now littered the ground. But with the height advantage available to the stormtroopers, any cover on the esplanade only offered limited protection at best.

The private spaceport of Alderaan was a magnificent tall building in the centre of the Alderaan capital city. It's principle function was to provide a travel hub for government officials, dignitaries, celebrities and other VIPS visiting or leaving Alderaan. Unlike public and commercial spaceports which often covered a wide area of land, the private spaceport was built upwards to save space on the ground. Also, unlike other buildings in the city, the floors on the higher levels did not contain offices and living areas. Instead they contained docking bays for civilian spaceships and aircraft.

As well as looking aesthetically beautiful, the spaceport building was clearly designed to be functional. It was connected by a long and wide boulevard directly to the High Council building where Delfeena knew that her sister troopers from platoons 1 and 2 were administering punishment to the traitorous band of rebels that formed the Alderaan government.

The spaceport was not only a travel hub. It was also a public gathering area where the Alderaan people could greet or say farewell to beloved VIPs and dignitaries. Delfeena could easily imagine how throngs of people would have filled these balconies and boulevards to cheer the VIPs as they entered or left Alderaan's capital city. She could easily imagine how the adoring crowds on these very balconies, dressed in their bright and gay clothing, would cheer Bail Organa as he arrived home from an official trip to Coruscant. Or more likely, Delfeena thought, from hatching his seditious plots with other rebel traitors against her beloved Emperor. In fact, Delfeena would have liked to see Bail Organa now. So she could put a blaster bolt through his rebel skull.

Yes, Delfeena could remember how grand and magnificent the entrance of the spaceport looked when her stormtrooper platoon commenced the assault on the building over two hours before. Now it was a battleground. Bodies were strewn all over the ground below and the once magnificent white marble was stained, pot-marked and cracked from blaster fire and explosions. The sight filled Delfeena with a deep sensation of satisfaction.

Like most of the stormtroopers in her all female unit, Delfeena was originally from a back-water world on the outer-rim. There was nothing that pleased her more than to see the magnificent glory of a rebellious core-world crushed under the boot of imperial authority. Delfeena knew that enforcing the will of the Emperor was first and foremost a solemn duty. But there were times, like now, when it could also be a pleasure.

Delfeena was sure that the next great man to honour the spaceport with his presence would be Lord Vader, or even the Emperor himself. She could just imagine being part of the honour guard that would escort the Emperor down the boulevard to the High Council building after imperial forces conquered and subjugated the rebel population of Alderaan. But that would have to wait until the imperial invasion finally arrived and swept away the pathetic rebel resistance. Until that happened, Delfeena had a battle to fight.

Delfeena signalled to the two female troopers beside her and pointed to a group of five rebels who were trying to sneak along the wall underneath the balcony at the other side of the esplanade. Delfeena and her troopers opened fire with a deadly hail of blaster bolts and mercilessly mowed them down before they could reach cover.

From another part of the esplanade, another group of rebels crouching behind a wrecked vehicle opened fire on Delfeena's postion. She ducked down to avoid the heavy blaster rounds that impacted on the marble wall of the balcony in front of her. Delfeena was thankful for wearing her stormtrooper armour as a blaster bolt bounced of the armour plating on her left arm. With the defenders in cover on the balcony and wearing armour, a rebel would need a well-aimed or lucky shot to kill or gravely wound a stormtrooper.

However, despite their defensive advantage, the rebels had managed to cause some casualties. Of the 42 stormtroopers who had initially assaulted the spaceport, Delfeena believed that at least a third of that number had been killed or put out of action. As time went by, the rebels were picking off her sister troopers one by one. Of course, the rebels had suffered significantly more losses. Delfeena estimated they had killed two to three hundred rebels since the operation began.

Delfeena peaked over the edge of the balcony wall to look at the group of rebels which was targeting her squad. Again she had to duck as the blaster rounds impacted on the balcony wall, sending fragments raining down on her helmet. The troopers on other sections of the balcony were obviously engaged in their own fire fights with other rebel squads and had not identified this threat. Delfeena activated the internal communicator in her helmet. As usual, she spoke in the synthesised male voice generated by her helmet.

"Squad three under fire from enemy unit in zone C32. Requesting support."

Moments later, Delfeena heard the sound of heavy blaster fire from imperial lines impact on the patterned stone floor of the esplanade below. Delfeena and the stormtroopers from her squad immediately stood up and rained down heavy fire on the rebel position. Soon, there was nothing left of the rebels but a pile of broken bodies and some smoking impact craters.

"They are falling back." Came the metallic male voice of Lieutenant Coleena Shtern over the com. "Keep firing. Take them down."

Delfeena considered that the term 'falling back' was a rather generous way to describe the way the rebels fled back to their lines in unbridled panic. In truth, it was a complete route. Many had dropped their weapons and just ran as fast as they could. Delfeena and her troopers opened up on the fleeing rebels. Many were struck in the back and collapsed to the ground to join the ever growing collection of bodies littering the surface of the Esplanade below.

Eventually, the last of the fleeing rebels reached the relative safety of the barricades and the troopers ceased fire.

"Status Report!" Barked Lieutenant Shtern's voice in Delfeena's com.

Delfeena checked with the other four troopers around her and confirmed that they were not seriously wounded and still had sufficient ammunition. She then confirmed to Shtern through her com that there were no casualties and they were ready for action.

Delfeena looked at the bodies of the dead covering the esplanade below. She was very grateful for the architectural genius that had created such a perfect killing ground. Since the Stormtroopers had occupied the spaceport, waves of rebels had attacked the front of the building, only to be mercilessly mowed down by the well trained and equipped female stormtroopers posted on the 30 foot high balcony. Not that the rebels realised, or indeed would care, that the stormtroopers were female.

Over two hours before Delfeena and her fellow stormtroopers had rushed the front of the spaceport building, killing guards and civilians indiscriminately. Her squad stormed and destroyed the control room where they locked-down the spaceport entrances and docking bays. No ship could now enter or leave the spaceport until the rebels recaptured the spaceport and repaired the damage.

The only way for the rebels to recapture the spaceport was to attack cross the wide esplanade at the front of the building. The esplanade was covered on three sides by the semi-circle shaped walls of the building. The stormtroopers were posted on balcony that ran round the length of the curved wall. With the balcony covering all areas of the esplanade, they could fire on the rebel attackers from any angle.

For the first half an hour after the stormtrooper assault, there was no response from the rebels. Probably because the bulk of their leadership was killed or otherwise caught up in the attack on the High Council building. This gave the stormtroopers time to clear the area, isolate an area of the spaceport around the main entrance and prepare defences on the balcony.

Then some rebels claiming to be political leaders and military officers started speaking on various media channels, exhorting their security forces to counter-attack and retake the building. Clearly angered by the attacks on their government, the Alderaan security, police and military forces gradually started to respond. At first, the stormtroopers only had to deal with lightly armed police and security units who tried to attack in disorganised and poorly planned assaults. Delfeena and her fellow storm trooper mowed them down and destroyed their vehicles without problem.

As time went on, the rebels became more organised, attacking in greater numbers and sending in better armed units. Until now, the stormtroopers had only faced futile attacks from infantry and light vehicles, repelling them with ease and causing significant casualties. In return, the rebels had only occasionally managed to kill or injure a handful stormtroopers from their numerous attacks. But Delfeena knew that it would only be a matter of time before they started sending in speeders, armoured vehicles and real assault troops.

And a moment later, she was proved right.

Three open topped speeders armed with heavy blasters and manned by squads of infantry flew towards them from the rebel barricades. Delfeena and her troopers opened fire on the speeder nearest to them, causing some of the rebels to tumble from their vehicle to the esplanade below. The other stormtrooper squads on the balcony also opened fire on the other two speeders. The rebels on the speeders returned fire.

The rebels in the speeder nearest to Delfeena opened fire on her squad with their blasters. Delfeena ducked for cover as blaster bolts peppered the wall covering her. One of her troopers, a woman named Lana Dellini, was hit directly in the head and chest, throwing her violently against the back wall of the balcony. Delfeena ignored her fallen sister trooper, concentrating instead on dealing with the enemy.

Delfeena heard a heavy blaster open fire from imperial lines. This was followed by a chain of explosions as one of the speeders was hit and crashed to the ground.

"Missile launcher!" Shouted Delfeena through her com.

Trooper Lara Azvedi moved round to a different part of the balcony wall. While the other squad members gave her covering fire, Azvedi stood up and held her MiniMag PTL missile launcher to her shoulder. A couple of seconds later the speeder exploded in a ball of fire as the missile impacted on its side, killing all the occupants.

At the same time, damaged from the withering fire of the other stormtrooper squads, the third speeder veered out of control and crashed into the wall at the foot of the Spaceport building. Delfeena and her troopers rained down fire on the wreckage on the esplanade below to ensure than none of the occupants survived.

It all went quiet again. The attack demonstrated the disorganisation of the rebels. If the infantry and the speeders had attacked together, they would have caused the stormtroopers more problems. But Delfeena was thankful for their incompetence. But she was sure it would not last.

"Status report!" Barked Lieutenant Shtern again in Delfeena's com.

Delfeena confirmed that trooper Dellini had been killed. The reports from the other squads came in confirming that six more troopers were killed during the speeder assault, including two sergeants from other squads. That was a heavy toll compared to previous attacks. Normally, the rebels only managed to put no more than one or two troopers out of action in each attack.

The death of the two sergeants meant that Delfeena was now officially second in command. Delfeena reflected that the last three hours had been the most successful in her 8 year career. Three hours ago, she was only a regular trooper. Now she was a sergeant and second in command of the platoon.

"Sergeant LaShatelle!" Said Lieutenant Shtern over the com again.

"Yes, sir?" Responded Delfeena through her own com.

"Go and find out if the is any sign of the invasion force. They should be here by now."

"Yes, sir." Still crouching, Delfeen made her way to the door at the back end of the balcony and exited into the corridor.

The orders for Platoon 3 were to hold the spaceport until the imperial invasion force relieved them. The invasion was supposed to start shortly after their assault on the spaceport began. But up to that moment, there had been no sign of any imperial invasion force.

One of Delfeena's squad members was tasked with monitoring imperial and rebel communications. It was Delfeena's responsibility to identify and communicate to Lieutenant Shtern any relevant information received on communication channels during lulls in the fighting. In the meantime, Lieutenant Shtern checked on the various squads and reorganised the defence for the next attack.

Delfeena left the balcony and walked down the short corridor inside the spaceport building. After turning a corner at a four-way intersection in the corridor, she found the communications expert, trooper Kayla Santoreen, sitting on the floor with her helmet lying beside her. In front of her was a bulky high-powered communications kit. Kayla wore a large set of ear-phones over her blond hair while she flicked switches and turned dials.

Nearby, another stormtrooper was standing guard, ready to react in the unlikely event that the rebels managed to enter the area from another location.

"Is there any sign of the invasion force, trooper?" Asked Delfeena in through the synthesised male voice of her helmet.

"No, sir." Answered Kayla. "We did received an encrypted imperial signal not long ago. But I don't recognise the code. I can't decipher the message or confirm what it relates to."

"How strange. Is there any news of an attack on the planetary shield generator?"

"No, sir. Nothing."

Delfeena frowned underneath her helmet. Platoon 4 under Lieutenant Loreno was supposed to attack the shield generator. The planetary shield would have to be lowered before the imperial invasion force could land on the planet. Delfeena wondered what the hell Lieutenant Loreno was doing and where she was. They needed that shield generator down as soon as possible.

"Have you managed to establish communication with Captain Rodano or Lieutenant Loreno?"

"No, sir. I have tried raising them. But there is no reply."

Delfeena frowned underneath her helmet. She wondered why there was no communications with the other teams. But then she reflected that it did not matter. Their mission was to hold the spaceport until relieved or they died. That was the task assigned to them in service of the Emperor. And serving the will of the Emperor was all that really mattered.

Delfeena crouched down and took her helmet off. She kept on her ear-phones in case Lieutenant Shtern contacted her. By removing her helmet, Delfeena was indicating to Kayla that they could talk informally. Delfeena decided there was no harm in having an informal talk as they were not in a direct combat area and there was a lull in the fighting.

Delfeena swept her fingers through her short dark hair. It was longest it had grown since they shaved it off at the academy 8 years before. Major Denlin had permitted them to…no, ordered them to let their hair grow. Delfeena admitted to herself that she quite liked the feel of her hair. She didn't realise she missed having proper hair so much.

"Hey, girl? What're you up to?" Kayla smiled warmly to Delfeena. Delfeena smiled back. Kayla was Delfeena's closest companion in the stormtrooper corps. They had served together for 6 years and always hung out when off duty.

"Oh, just killing rebels as usual, sweetie." Replied Delfeena. Both girls giggled.

"Any rebel chatter?" Asked Delfeena. She needed to find out as part of her duty. But she enjoyed hearing about what was going on.

"Oh, just the usual." Replied Kayla. "Some nutter claiming to be a commander from the palace guard exhorting all military units to make their way here and kill us."

"Bring 'em on!"

"Hell Yeah!" Giggled Kayla, scrunching her nose.

"Anything else?"

"Some other armchair general is demanding our unconditional surrender."

"Really? On what basis?" Smirked Delfeena.

"On the basis that we are surrounded."

Delfeena screwed up her nose and snorted out a laugh. "Does he not realise that is the whole point?"

"Should I inform the Lieutenant about that?" Asked Kayla, this time in a more serious tone.

"No, don't bother." Replied Delfeena. "Shtern will probably reprimand you for wasting her time. You know fine well that she'd just tell him to go and fuck himself. Anything else?"

"Oh. Apparently an all-female rebel unit calling itself the 1st Princess Leia Organa Battalion has secured and locked down the commercial spaceport. They are ready to defend it against imperial attack."

Delfeena laughed again and shook her head. "By the will of the Emperor. They must be desperate. The rebels really are scraping the bottom of the barrel. These manicured Alderaan dollies wouldn't stand a chance against a squad of imperial stormtroopers. They would run off screaming in five seconds."

Kayla giggled in return. "Yeah. I would also run off screaming if I had to serve in a company with such a ridiculous name."

"Anything about us?"

"Some in the media are speculating that we may be a rogue squadron of imperial stormtroopers."

"Rogue Squadon. I love that." Delfeena Smiled broadly. "After this mission is over, I think I'll suggest to the company commander that we name our unit Rogue Squadron."

"The way things are going, you may be the company commander."

"Haha. That's true." Laughed Delfeena. Delfeena reflected how she had already been field-promoted directly from trooper to sergeant after the two NCOs in her squad were killed in the initial assault on the control room. If the Lieutenant was killed, she would be the platoon commander.

At that moment, Lieutenant Shtern's voice sounded loud and clear through her earphones.

"Return to your squad immediately, Sergeant!" Ordered Shtern urgently. "They're coming again. This time in force."

"Duty calls." Said Delfeena, before standing up and putting on her helmet.

Delfeena rushed out to the balcony to join her squad. The Lieutenant wasn't joking. This time the rebels meant business. Five armoured hover vehicles equipped with dual heavy blasters were moving towards them at speed, while infantry swarmed towards them on the ground. It looks like the rebels were about to launch a well organised assault for a change.

Delfeena and her squad immediately came under heavy fire from the hover vehicles and the troopers on the ground. There was also concentrated covering fire coming from the rebel barricades. Delfeena and her troopers moved position behind the balcony wall as blaster fire impacted around them.

"Rocket launcher!" Shouted Delfeena.

Stormtrooper Lara Azvedi stood up and was able to quickly let loose a rocket. A hail of blaster fire immediately impacted on Azvedi's chest and head, killing her instantly. The armour-piercing round penetrated the armoured flank of the hover vehicle and exploded. The vehicle was shredded from the inside, causing its flaming husk to crash to the ground. A second rocket from another stormtrooper squad managed to destroy a second armoured vehicle. That too crashed to the ground in a ball of fire.

Through her com Delfeena could hear the commands and responses of stormtroopers from other squads as they came under enemy fire and received casualties. Although the male sounding voices spoke with urgency, there was no sense of panic among any of her sister stormtroopers.

Delfeena saw one of the armoured vehicles stop near the centre of the balcony. The side of the vehicle fell open and a squad of well-armed rebel troopers leapt onto the balcony and immediately engaged the stormtroopers stationed there.

Delfeena and her squad opened fire on the rebels troops jumping from the hover vehicle, causing a couple to fall to the esplanade below. Delfeena's squad immediately came under heavy blaster fire from another hover vehicles and rebel troops on the ground. One of Delfina's stormtroopers, Sara Krell, was hit several times and crashed to the floor of the balcony. Several blaster bolts impacted on the armour of the other stormtroopers in the squad, causing light wounds.

An urgent message came through on the com confirming that Lieutenant Shtern had been killed. With her death, Sergeant Delfeena LaShatelle was now the commanding officer of Platoon 3.

Delfeena realised that they could not hold this position any longer. It was time to make a tactical withdrawal.

"All units fall back to the corridors and hold there!" Delfeena ordered urgently.

Delfeena and her remaining two troopers scrambled to the door at the back of the balcony. Stormtrooper Katreen Sammer was slammed against a wall after being hit in the back by several blaster rounds. She crumpled to the ground and lay still.

Delfeena received a light injury in her right thigh as she scrambled through the balcony door way. Fortunately for Delfeena, her armour had partially deflecting the force of the blaster round. It would not stop her fighting.

Delfeena touched the switch to close the balcony door. She threw away her DTL-19 Blaster rifle and unclipped her E-11. The E-11 would be more useful in an enclosed space like this. Delfeena knew that rebels would soon blast the doors in. Delfeena ran the short distance to the cover offered by the corridor intersection.

"In the name of the Emperor, fight to the last man!" Ordered Delfeena through her com to all surviving units.

Delfeena reached the intersection just as the rebels blew in the door with several heavy blaster rounds. Kayla Santoreen and the two other remaining troopers from Delfeena's squad were waiting around the corner. Kayla was now wearing her stormtrooper helmet and was holding her E-11 blaster, ready for action.

Immediately, several soldiers wearing the distinctive uniform of the Alderaan military swarmed into the corridor from the balcony doorway. Delfeena knew the position was desperate. But she remembered the one tenant that was drummed into her in the academy. She could hear the voice of the lecturer in her head now.

"When facing overwhelming forces, there is only one tactic that will turn the tide of the battle. Attack the enemy. Move forward."

Delpheena ordered the stormtroopers from her squad to advance. The three remaining troopers form Delfeena's squad left their cover and advanced towards the balcony door, sending a hail of blaster fire towards the rebels. Delfeena followed behind them also opening fire. Immediately, several rebel soldiers collapsed to the ground as they were struck by the accurate rapid fire of her stormtroopers.

Some rebels managed to fire back. The corridor was filled with the sound and sight of blaster bolts flying back and forth. Kayla Santoreen, Delfeena's squad mate of 6 years, was hit by two blaster bolts. She collapsed to the ground and lay still. Delfeena stepped over the body of her friend without a second thought and continued advancing. Two more rebels fell to the floor under her accurate blaster fire. Most of the rebels who had entered in the initial assault were now lying still on the floor of the corridor.

Stormtrooper Darla Korlak was then hit by a blaster bolt and collapsed to the ground with a crash. Delfeena only had one stormtrooper from her squad left, a trooper called Nora Djoon. The two young women continued advancing and firing, mercilessly blasting any rebels who tried to enter the corridor from the balcony. The bodies of fallen rebels started to pile up in front of the balcony door as Delfeena and Nora mercilessly cut them down.

Just as Delfeena and Nora reached half way down the corridor, Alderaan was suddenly struck by the Superlaser fired from the Death Star causing the planet to explode. At that moment, Delfeena LaShatelle, Nora Djoon, the assaulting rebels and everyone on Alderaan were killed instantly.

Sergeant Delfeena LaShatelle died advancing with blaster in hand and killing the enemies of the Emperor. She died with a smile on her face.


	4. Compromises

**Author's note: This is the first chapter where I jump back in time.**

CHAPTER 4 – COMPROMISES

ALDERAAN CAPITAL CITY

HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER

ABOUT ONE HOUR BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF ALDERAAN

Lieutenant Kassandra Steele watched in helplessness and frustration as the last of her sister stormtroopers in the main council chamber below was cut down by rebel fire. She took aim with her DTL-19 Heavy Blaster rifle and sent a prolonged burst of blaster fire towards the rebels who were swarming into the chamber, killing a couple and causing the rest to dive for cover.

More rebels poured into the chamber below and fired up at her position. Kassandra's sister troopers beside her in the public gallery fired down at the rebels. Multi-coloured beams of light flew in all directions as the rebel forces and stormtroopers engaged each other with intense blaster fire.

The once magnificent circular shaped High Council chamber of Alderaan was now a scene of death and destruction. The dead bodies of council members, rebel troopers and stormtroopers lay strewn all around. The rows of chairs in the council chamber and public gallery lay in ruins. The once grand podium at the centre was now just a pile of burnt out wood and rubble. The once finely adorned walls were now cracked and burned form blaster impacts.

Kassandra recognised that the attempt to hold the chamber had been a failure. They had hoped to hold it until the signal, confirming the imminent destruction of the planet, was received from imperial high command. But the rebels had successfully recaptured the chamber, attacking in force through the numerous entrances around the High Council building. The factor that gave the imperial stormtroopers the advantage of surprise at the beginning of the mission was now their undoing.

There were just too many entrances and not enough stormtroopers to hold them. Kassandra knew that they would soon be surrounded and eliminated. But until then, she would fight to her last breath. The male synthesised voice of a sister trooper holding one of the corridors nearby sounded clearly through the com in her helmet.

"Enemy forces have broken through. We are about to be overrun."

"Damn it!" Kassandra cursed under her breath. The rebels would soon enter the public gallery and attack them in the rear. The battle would soon be over.

Two hours before, her stormtroopers had stormed the High Council chambers and killed most of the members of the Alderaan government. The rebels had responded with surprising rapidity, launching attacks against the various entrances of the High Council building. Kassandra and her forces had resisted the rebel assault with all the determination and fanaticism of loyal imperial stromtroopers, causing the enemy countless casualties. But being severely outnumbered, the stormtroopers were pushed back into the council chamber itself, where they were surrounded.

Kassandra ordered some of her troopers to watch the back entrance of the public gallery. Then she adjusted the com in her helmet to address all units fighting in the area of the High Council chamber.

"All units. The enemy has broken through and surrounded us." She said in the male synthesised voice of her helmet. "Fight to the last man, to the last blaster bolt. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Galactic Empire!"

Even though all her stormtroopers were women, Kassandra still referred to her troopers as men when speaking through her com. This was partly out of tradition. But it was also to ensure that enemy forces monitoring their communications did not realise that all the stormtroopers were female. If the rebel forces found out they were not facing a typical stormtrooper unit, there was a remote chance that they may deduce the real reason for the imperial attack: To facilitate the destruction of Alderaan without allowing anyone to escape.

Of course, if any of the rebels removed the helmets of the dead stormtroopers who had fallen in the battle so far, they would see that they were women. However, Kassandra did not believe that the rebels would discover they were facing an all female unit until it was way too late. The rebels would more likely tend to their own dead and wounded before inspecting the fallen stormtroopers. Also, since it was known that the stormtrooper corps included women in their ranks, discovering fallen female troopers would not necessarily raise suspicion. At least not immediately.

Suddenly, rebel troops burst into the public gallery behind Kassandra's position. Kassandra's stormtroopers opened fire on them, causing most to fall as soon as they entered the doorway. However, some rebels managed to avoid being hit and fired back.

Just as Kassandra was about to raise her blaster to meet the new threat, a blaster bolt caught her in the chest. Mortally wounded, Kassandra collapsed helplessly to the floor. As her life slipped away, the last of her sister troopers in the public gallery dutifully fought to the last woman in the name of the Emperor.

* * *

HIGH COUNCIL BUILDING

MAIN ENTRANCE AREA

"Sir, we have received a message from Lieutenant Steele." Heard Lieutenant Gloria Corianna through the com of her stormtrooper helmet.

"Report!" Replied Captain Victoria Rodano. Both Rodano and Corianna stood together in the main entrance hall of the High Council building. Both women were wearing their full stormtrooper armour.

"She has confirmed that they are surrounded." Confirmed the communications trooper. "She has issued the last-stand order to her unit."

Rodano sighed and turned to Corianna. "OK, lieutenant. It's time to lock-down the main doors linking the High Council Chamber to the entrance area."

"Captain. Request to lead four troopers to the chamber." Suggested Corianna. "I believe we could break out the troopers who are surrounded."

"Request denied, Lieutenant." Rodano turned to Corianna and spoke firmly. "It's too late for that. Lock-down the doors as ordered!"

"Yes, sir."

Reluctantly, Corianna signalled two sister stormtroopers to enter the lock down codes on the doors at the back of the entrance area. The two troopers did as ordered and the doors were definitely locked-down. No one would be entering from there without some significantly heavy firepower or explosives.

Coranna looked at the entrance area of the High Council building around her. The once grand hall was now covered in the dust and debris of battle. Dead bodies littered the floor. Apart from herself and Rodano, another eight fully armed sister stormtroopers stood alert in the hall. Five stood near the narrow entrance and watched for rebel activity from outside. Another three were held in reserve, waiting to intervene should the rebels try anything.

After sweeping the High Council Building of enemy targets and capturing two high profile prisoners of the Alderaan government, the stormtroopers had tried to hold the High Council chambers. It proved to be an impossible task, with Alderaan military forces infiltrating the building through a number of entrances.

Facing overwhelming numbers, Captain Rodano had retreated with a small number of stormtroopers to guard the entrance area, leaving the remainder of the her forces to hold the rest of the building.

The entrance area had proved to be the most defensible part of the whole building. With the heavy doors protecting the rear, the stormtroopers only had to defend the narrow entrance at the front. The Alderaan forces had launched a few sporadic attacks on the front of the building. But after their infantry was mowed down by accurate blaster fire and a couple of their armoured vehicles were destroyed by imperial MiniMag PTL rockets lauchers, they had halted their attacks. For now.

Instead, the Alderaan command had sent in assault infantry to infiltrate the various back and side entrances all around the High Council building. The tactic had been effective. After two hours of intense fighting, the Alderaan forces had occupied the rest of the building and eliminated over 70 stormtroopers who had initially taken part in the operation. However, Corianna was sure that her fallen sister troopers had caused more casualties that they had received.

Corianna felt frustrated at having to wait for the Alderaan forces to attack. She wanted to take the fight to the enemy. She also felt that she could have led a relief force to the High Council Chamber and rescued at least some of the troopers surrounded there. In fact, she still believed it was possible even now. Corianna turned to face Rodano.

"Captain. Permission to speak, sir ."

"Yes, Lieutenant. Follow me."

Rodano led Corianno into the small office where trooper Kareen Keeler, the red haired communications expert, was monitoring the airwaves with her communications kit. Keeler did not have her helmet on. She was wearing headphones and using a microphone that would synthesise her voice to make her sound male. Anyone listening to Keeler's communications would not immediately realise that she was a woman.

Rodano took off her stormtrooper helmet. Corianna did likewise.

"OK, Corianna. You can speak freely." Rodano brushed her hands through her short brown hair.

Corianna looked at her captain's face. Compared with most of the other female troopers, Rodano was mature, possibly in her early thirties. Corianna and most other troopers were in their early twenties. Corianna believed that Rodano must have been one of the first female troopers to enter the stormtrooper corps over ten years before. Possible even the very first. Which partly explained the heady rank of sergeant Rodano had originally attained, before receiving a promotion to captain from Major Denlin two weeks before.

"I believe we can still bring back some of our troopers, sir." Corianna spoke respectfully, but with conviction. "I believe that we can push back the Alderaan forces and break them out."

"No, Lieutenant." Replied Rodano. "I will not risk any more of our forces. We have barely enough to hold this area should the enemy launch a concerted attack. I have already made a mistake in trying to hold the chamber. I shall not make another by sending more troopers to their early deaths unnecessarily. We need all the troopers we have to complete the mission."

At that moment, trooper Keeler signalled that she had a new message.

"Yes, trooper. Report!"

"We have lost contact with all forces in the rest of the building. All are down."

"It's too late now anyway, Lieutenant."

Rodano leaned forward, putting both hands on the desk in front of her. She stared at the wall, an expression of frustration etched on her face. "Damn it! I didn't think they would attack so soon. I was sure they would try to secure the spaceports first before coming here. I thought they would try to escape the planet believing that an invasion would come."

They knew from media reports that the nearby Private spaceport defended by Lieutenant Shtern and her platoon was holding against sporadic enemy attacks made by poorly armed and equipped enemy forces. It seemed that the Alderaan military had concentrated all their best forces on the High Council building. This seemed to surprise Rodano. But it did not surprise Corianna. She was from Alderaan and knew her people better.

"The Alderaan people may be deluded by the lies and propaganda that the traitors in their government feed them, captain. But they are not cowards." Responded Corianna firmly. "They will not run. They are proud people and would want to recapture the High Council building. It is the symbol of their culture and identity."

"And I thought they were pacifists." Smirked Rodano.

"More lies from the Alderaan government. The Alderaan people may not start an open war, but they will fight to defend themselves if attacked. I told you before not to underestimate their fighting spirit, captain." Even though Corianna spoke of her enemy, she spoke the words with pride. After all, she was from Alderaan and shared the same natural fighting spirit. Except she used it in noble service to the Emperor.

"Yes, you did tell me that, lieutenant." Rodano nodded to Corianna in acknowledgement. "You were right. I should have listened to you."

Corianna found that Rodano's frank admission of error in front of subordinates like herself and trooper Keeler unusual. No male officer would ever have admitted an error in front of a subordinate. In fact, Corianna even considered Rodano's admission of error as inappropriate for a commanding officer. However, given that every stormtrooper left alive in the High Council building knew they would all be dead in less than an hour, Corianna accepted that such subservience to protocol was not necessary.

Suddenly, there was the sound of blaster fire from the front of the building. Corianna and Rodano put on their helmets and rushed out to the main entrance. The stormtroopers there were exchanging heavy blaster fire with attacking Alderaan forces. Having captured the rest of the building, Corianna reflected that the enemy would now trying to dislodge them from the entrance area.

Corianna rushed towards the doorway of the main entrance. Before she got there a huge explosion knocked her off her feet. She saw that a large part of the entrance had been blown in, knocking a other stormtroopers to the ground. At least two did not get up again.

Corianna scrambled to her feet and rushed to the entrance. She could see a hover tank moving slowly towards them, firing at them with dual heavy blasters. Alderaan infantry ran alongside the tank, also firing their blasters.

Corianna ducked behind a block of fallen rubble as blaster bolts rained down on her position, impacting on the block of stone in front of her. With fragments of stone flying against her helmet and armour-plating, she was thankful for her stormtrooper armour at that moment.

Unfortunately, the armour was no protection from a direct hit. A fact that was demonstrated when one of her stormtroopers, Rana Smitson, received a direct hit to the torso and collapsed to the ground. Under the heavy blaster fire, her armour plating crumpled as if it was plastic.

Corianna was about to order a rocket support. But she didn't have to. From the back of the entrance area, a rocket fired by one of her sister stormtrooper sped past her and struck the armoured vehicle squarely in the front. The vehicle stood no chance against the armour-piercing warhead and exploded violently. The vehicle blew apart, sending hot fragments of metal in all directions. Again, Corianna was thankful for her armour as the burning hot razor-sharp fragments rained down on her position.

The Alderaan infantry running beside the tank were not so fortunate. Most were blown to pieces or flung like ragged dolls far from the exploding tank, ripped to shreds by the shrapnel that cut through their unarmoured bodies. A couple of dead rebels and body parts were even thrown into the entrance area. Corianna had to duck again as the limbless torso of a rebel flew over her and landed with a dull thud behind her position.

Corianna ordered her stormtroopers to advance and open fire. Immediately, the other stormtroopers moved forward to new cover nearer the entrance and laid down heavy fire on the rebel infantry who had momentarily been halted by the explosion. Corianna fired her DTL-19 Heavy Blaster rifle, knocking down Alderaan infantry as they tried to struggle forward.

Despite the loss of the tank, Corianna observed more Alderaan troopers continuing to advance towards them, only to be met by the accurate blaster fire from the stormtrooper defenders. Corianna was amazed by the courage and determination of her Alderaan compatriots who were willing to advance and die in an open frontal attack against well dug-in armoured stormtoopers. She could not help feel a swell of pride as her countrymen advanced into the hail of blaster fire and were mowed down by the dozen.

For a moment, Corianna felt a tinge of regret as she witnessed the bravery of the Alderaan forces. A regret that such courage could not be used in service of the Emperor. But that very thought made her realise more than ever why the decision to destroy Alderaan was the correct one. If Alderaan mobilised its full resources and fighting spirit in support of the rebellion, she recognised that it would cause great problems for the Empire, even though the imperial forces would undoubtedly be victorious in the end.

This was vividly demonstrated when another sister trooper, Vivian Slaater, was thrown to the ground by a direct hit from a rebel blaster. Corianna saw that trooper Slatter did not get up again, meaning that her wound was very serious, if not fatal.

Eventually, the Alderaan forces fell back, after taking significant casualties. Corianna checked round her troopers to confirm casualties. One of the troopers with medical training was already treating the wounds of her sister troopers. Rodano ordered Corianna to join her in the communications room to provide a status report on the battle.

"We lost five troopers." Confirmed Corianna after entering the communications room and removing her helmet. Rodano had also removed her helmet. Trooper Keeler was also still in the office monitoring the dashboard of her communication equipment.

"Damn it!" Hissed Rodano. "Another attack like that and we will be overrun."

"We shall fight to the last man." Corianna stated defiantly. "We will ensure that they pay dearly for any attack."

Rodano smirked. Both she and Corianna both knew well they would all be dead in just over half an hour when the planet was destroyed. Losses suffered by either side would be irrelevant.

"I don't intend to fight to the last man. I intend for us to hold until the signal is received as per the mission objective."

Rodano turned to Keeler who was sitting with helmet off, earphones over her head.

"Trooper Keeler. What is the status of our forces in the private spaceport?"

"They are reporting in as usual." Replied Keeler. "The rebels are still only making sporadic and poorly organised attacks."

"Good. At least they are holding" Said Rodano. "It looks like the rebels are only sending their better quality units against us for the moment."

Corianna reflected that it was no surprise that her sister troopers in the private spaceport were holding firm. Most of the best and experienced fighters had been assigned to that mission. Rodano had expected the bulk of the attack to fall on the private spaceport. She had been proved wrong.

"And what about the commercial spaceport. Any news from there?"

Because of the covert nature of the operation at the commercial spaceport, there was no direct communication between the forces under Lieutenant Loreno and central command under Rodano. Strict radio silence was maintained.

"Everything seems quiet there for now." Replied Keeler. "The rebel media appears to still believe that the Princess Leia Organa Battalion guarding the commercial spaceport is part of the Alderaan military. In fact, they are praising Bail Organa for forming the unit and deploying it to defend the infrastructure of the planet."

"It looks like Lieutenant Loreno has exceeded our expectations, lieutenant Corianna." Rodano smiled slyly at Corianna. "It looks we will hold the commercial spaceport to the very end."

Corianna felt a pang of jealousy as she considered the success of Loreno. Being from Alderaan, Coranna was originally supposed to lead the covert operation in the commercial spaceport. But when they had discovered that Corianna's brother was the Director there, they were forced to change their plans. As a result, Corianna was reassigned to the mission against the High Council building, while Loreno was put in charge of the mission to capture the commercial spaceport. This involved promoting Loreno directly from trooper to lieutenant.

Corianna's feeling of jealously soon changed to guilt when she reflected how unfairly she had treated Loreno. Corianna always knew that the modest Silvia Loreno was officer material. But with both Loreno and Corianna originating from Alderaan, Corianna had always seen Loreno as one of her her main rivals in the company. For that reason, Corianna had deliberately held Loreno back, refusing to promote her.

In truth, Corianna was not at all surprised that Loreno had successfully captured the commercial spaceport. It was not the first time Loreno had successfully contributed to a covert operation. A couple of weeks earlier, both Corianna and Loreno were involved in an covert operation to assassinate a prominent imperial diplomat. They had pretended to be from the Alderaan military during the operation so that the government of Alderaan would receive the blame for the attack.

Looking back, Corianna recognised that Loreno had performed well in the assassination mission and had been one of the key elements in the success of the operation. However, Corianna had refused to give any credit to Loreno after the mission, foolishly worried that it would undermine her own position as Rodano's second-in-command. But now she admitted that she had been wrong.

Corianna also reluctantly admitted that she had betrayed Loreno and herself. Corianna had always felt bitter about the neglect and lack of recognition she had received from male imperial officers. To her disgust, Corianna realised that she had done exactly the same thing with Loreno.

Now that her final mission for the Empire was reaching its end, Corianna was pleased and relieved that all had turned out well for Loreno in the end. Or as well as it could under the circumstances. Loreno had finally received the recognition she merited and would end her life in the command position she so deserved. Justice had been done.

At that moment, the synthesised voice one of the stormtroopers by the main entrance sounded over the com.

"They're coming again, sir. We can see at least three armoured hover vehicles approaching with supporting infantry. We are taking position to repel the attack."

"We cannot stand an attack of that force." Rodano frowned as she spoke .

"We have enough rockets to take out two of the vehicles." Corianna spoke with a confidence she genuinely felt. "And we can take out the third with mines. We can still hold."

"Even if we survive this one, we will not hold against the next." Said Rodano "No. Lieutenant. We need to buy more time."

"What are we going to do, captain?"

Rodano did not answer Corianna. Instead she turned to Keeler.

"Trooper. Patch me through to rebel command." After speaking, Rodano put on her helmet. The rebels would only hear the sound of her male synthesised voice. She did not want them to know that she was a woman.

"Yes, sir." Keeler pressed a couple of switches on her dashboard.

When Rodano spoke to rebel commander, she did so in the commanding voice of an arrogant imperial officer, as if giving an order to an inferior.

"Cease fire immediately! We are sending out a prisoner."

At first, there was no reply. Then a few seconds later a male voice sounded over the com.

"Please clarify."

"Cease fire now. We are sending out Rouge Organa."

There was another few seconds of hesitation, probably as the rebel officers consulted with each other.

"OK. We will give you ten minutes."

Rodano switched her com to a different frequency and contacted her troopers at the building entrance.

"Status report!" She said briskly.

"The rebels are withdrawing." Replied a trooper. "They are falling back."

"Good. Bring Rouge Organa out to the front." Rodano turned to Corianna. "Lieutenant. I will release Miss Organa. I will tell her that we will kill her dear brother unless the rebel attacks against us cease immediately. You are to ensure that our troopers are ready in case the rebels try anything."

"Permission to speak frankly." Said Corianna firmly, biting her lip.

Rodano turned to face her lieutenant. She removed her helmet and waited for Corianna to speak her mind.

"Permission granted. But speak fast."

"Captain. These hostage tactics are better suited to pirates and criminals. They are not appropriate for imperial stormtroopers." Corianna spoke with conviction. "We should fight honourably to the last man, without reverting to such cowardly tactics."

"Lieutenant Corianna. You know what our objectives are in this mission. "Rodano sighed and shook her head. "Our first priority is to detain Bail Organa and lock-down the spaceports until the signal from imperial high command is received."

"Yes, sir. I am aware of our objectives." Replied Corianna.

Corianna knew they were to hold Bail organa and lock-down the space ports until they received the signal from high command indicating that the destruction of the planet was about to happen. The signal marked the point in time when it would be impossible for any ship leaving Alderaan to escape destruction. Any ship that left Aldeaan after the signal was received would be caught and destroyed in the blast wave of the subsequent explosion. That was why they were required to attack the High Council, lock down the spaceports and detain Bail Organa. They wanted to ensure that no member of the Alderaan government escaped the destruction of the planet.

"When the priority objective is achieved, then we can think about fighting to the last man."

"Yes, captain. But…." Corianna did not have time to continue. Rodano interrupted her.

"Lieutenant, you know fine well that everyone in imperial high command expects us to be overrun here." Continued Rodano. "They expect us to be swept away in a matter of minutes like the weak willed women they believe we are. Well, I will not allow us to be swept away. We will hold out until that damn signal is received. And I will use any tactic at our disposal to achieve that objective. Is that understood, lieutenant?"

"Yes, captain."

"Besides, lieutenant. We do not want to be up for decimation for failing a critical mission. Do we?"

Corianna smirked at the irony of the comment. When a stormtrooper unit fails a critical mission, it has to undergo a decimation process whereby at least one tenth of the troopers are executed as punishment for the failure. Obviously, since they would all die anyway when Alderaan was destroyed, they did not need to worry about being subject to decimation even if the mission failed.

Reluctantly, Corianna accepted her captain's decision as the obedient imperial stormtrooper she was. She didn't agree with Rodano's reasoning. Corianna believed that it was the duty of imperial stormtroopers to kill the enemy wherever they were to be found; whatever the circumstances.

Corianna wondered where Rodano got her ideas from. She had heard that Rodano had served with Major Denlin under an alien admiral who was rumoured to have blue skin and red eyes. Corianna considered that it was probably that alien who had given her such dishonourable ideas.

Rodano put on her helmet and walked out of the communications room. Corianna also put on her helmet and followed her.

Outside the communications office, a trooper was waiting with the bedraggled and terrified looking Rouge Organa who was gagged and bound by the wrists. Rodano walked up to Rouge Organa and pushed her towards the gaping hole in the wall that used to be the entrance to the High Council building. All the stormtroopers took up positions at the entrance and looked out for rebel activity.

"Captain? Do you have to go out yourself?" Said Corianna over the private com in their helmets. "Let me take her."

"No. I will do it, lieutenant. "Replied Rodano, also over private com. "It will give me an opportunity to see the disposition of the enemy forces."

Corianna could not understand why Rodano would want to risk herself like this. Then she remembered that Rodano and Bail Organa had spoken at least once in private since the start of the mission. She wondered if Rodano had made some sort of agreement with Bail Organa concerning the release of his sister. Whatever the reason, Corianna realised that it would not matter anyway. They would all be dead anyway in less than an hour.

Rodano exited into the Alderaan sunlight, shoving Rouge Organa in front of her. Two stormtroopers flanked them, blasters at the ready. Rodano pushed Rouge to the edge of the steps descending from the building entrance, before removing Rouge's bonds and gag. The Rodano spoke in her ear.

"If you attack us here again, your brother is dead. Do you understand?"

Tears in her eyes, Rouge nodded her head affirmatively.

Rodano pushed Rouge Organa forward. As Rouge walked forward towards the rebel lines, Rodano examined the rebel forces in front of her trying to estimate the type, quality and number of the units facing them. Seeing that Rouge had almost arrived at the rebel lines, Rodano and her two stormtroopers started to retreat slowly backwards towards the entrance of the building. Then the rebels broke the cease-fire.

Just before Rouge Organa reached the safety of the barricades, some of the rebels opened fire. Rodano was struck a handful of times by blaster fire. Most of the impacts were deflected or absorbed by her armour. But she received one serious wound to the abdomen, causing her to stagger back and fall under the impact. The two stormtroopers behind her opened fire on the rebel lines and advanced to help their captain. Corianna requested rocket support to cover Rodano's retreat. Almost immediately, a rocket fired by a stormtrooper from inside the entrance hall impacted on the rebel barricades, causing a fireball to rise in the air.

The rocket attack caused panic in the rebel lines and allowed the two stormtroopers to drag Rodano back into the cover of the entrance area. They leaned her against a pillar. One of the stormtroopers started treating Rodano's wounds.

At the entrance, the three stormtroopers posted there and advancing rebel infantry exchanged blaster fire. Corianna was in the thick if the fire fight as usual, picking off rebels with accurate shots from her DTL-19 blaster rifle.

Then the rebels suddenly ceased fire and retreated. Corianna then received a message from trooper Keeler.

"Rouge Organa wishes to speak to our commanding officer, lieutenant. The Captain is unconscious from her wounds."

"OK. Patch me through." Replied Corianna. "I'll speak to her."

A moment later, Corianna heard Rouge's voice over her com.

"Is my brother still alive?" The panicked voice of Rouge Organa asked frantically.

"Yes. But if you attack again. We will kill him."

"We need proof he is still alive. You have five minutes."

Corianna stood up and went to the small office where the bound and gagged Bail Organa was being held. His eyes opened in terror as the helmeted Corianna stormed in and grabbed him roughly by the scruff of the neck. She dragged him out to the entrance of the building and held him in front of her for the rebels to see, holding a blaster pistol to his head.

"Satisfied?" Was all Corianna said in her helmet com.

"Yes." Rouge Organa's voice replied coldly.

Corianna returned Bail Organa to the small office which was serving as his detention cell. The she went to check on Rodano who was sitting against a pillar. Rodano was clearly very badly wounded and was not in a condition to fight. Rodano removed her helmet. Corianna did likewise and crouched down in front of her.

"It looks lithe some of the people of Alderaan are not as honourable as I thought." Rodano smiled grimly. "It seems I misjudged the enemy again."

"Yes, captain." Corianna made no further comment.

"Status report, lieutenant!" Rodano gasped with pain as she spoke.

"It is all quiet, captain." Replied Corianna. "There is no activity from the rebels. Except an effort to collect their wounded."

"Let them. As long as they don't get too close." Said Rodano. "It won't do them any good in the end."

"They will probably redeploy their assault forces to the private spaceport. Shall we warn them, Captain?"

"No." Replied Rodano. "They always knew such an attack was likely."

"Yes, sir."

"In fact, break all communication with them." Ordered Rodano." We cannot help them from here. If they think we are overrun, they may fight harder."

Corianna could see now how determined Rodano was to complete the mission objective. She truly wanted to demonstrate the value of the all-female unit to the Empire. Even if no one would witness what they had achieved.

"They still believe an invasion is coming." Rodano's voice was full of bitterness. "If they hold, let them die with hope in their hearts."

"Yes, sir. Any further orders?"

"Get trooper Keeler to patch all communications through to me. She can join the defence at the front. I will listen for the signal from high command. All we have to do now is wait."

"Yes, sir." Corianna could not hide the bitterness in her own voice.

"Don't worry, lieutenant." Rodano smiled weakly at her. "You will have your moment of glory. When the signal comes through I will relinquish command to you. Then you can make your last stand."

"Thank you, sir."

Corianna put her helmet on and took up a defensive position at the entrance of the High Council building. Corianna had wanted to come on this mission to be in the thick of the action. Instead, now all she could do was wait. Wait for the end of the world.

* * *

**Author's note**

**If you are interested in seeing my version of how a decimation process could turn out, please look at chapters 16 and 18 of my story: "Loyal Soldier of the Empire – Journal of an Imperial Stormtrooper".**


	5. Ruse

CHAPTER 5 - RUSE

A FEW MILES OUTSIDE ALDERAAN's CAPITAL CITY

ABOUT TWO HOURS BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF ALDERAAN

"Lieutenant. We are five minutes from spaceport." Announced the female co-pilot in her melodic Alderaan accent. "Do you wish me to contact the spaceport?"

Silvia Loreno was sitting in the cockpit command chair of the military airspeeder as she travelled towards the public spaceport of Alderaan. Like the other nine stormtroopers in the airspeeder, she was wearing the military uniform of Alderaan. She didn't look out on the beautiful landscape of her home planet. She had more important things to think about. Such as achieving the objectives of her upcoming mission and thus fulfilling the infallible will of the Emperor.

"Lieutenant?" The female co-pilot repeated. "Do you still wish me to contact the spaceport?"

Through her earpiece, Loreno listened to the news bulletins from the media reporting on the imperial stormtrooper assaults against the High Council building and the private spaceport in Alderaan's capital city. With all Alderaan's senior military officers dead or missing, the media reported that junior commanders were mobilising forces to respond to the unprovoked attacks.

"Lieutenant?" The co-pilot looked round at Loreno, a broad smile on her face. "Lieutenant Loreno?"

Loreno suddenly realised that the co-pilot was speaking to her. Loreno had only recently received her promotion to lieutenant. Only two days before she had only been a regular trooper. Now Loreno was the commanding officer of a stormtrooper platoon. She was still getting used to her new title.

"Yes, Sergeant Caldora." Loreno smiled and nodded affirmatively to the co-pilot. "Let them know that I must speak to the director as a matter or urgency."

Sergeant Tanya Caldora smiled in response. "Yes, Lieutenant. Contacting the control centre now."

Loreno listened as Caldora spoke to the spaceport control centre in her Alderaan accent. Loreno knew that Caldora was not from Alderaan and she was impressed at how well Caldora could mimic the accent. Loreno was also impressed with Caldora's acting ability in dealing with the spaceport personnel. She was almost as good an acctress as Loreno herself.

Acting ability was not a skill that was typically valued by the stormtrooper corps. When she enlisted as a stormtrooper, Loreno believed that she would never again make use of the skills obtained during her previous career as an unsuccessful actress. But she had been proved wrong. In Loreno's current mission, her acting ability and experience would prove to be invaluable.

Loreno's mission objective was simple. She and her platoon of female imperial stormtroopers were to take control of the public spaceport on the outskirts of Alderaan's capital city and lock it down. They were then required to hold the installation until relieved by imperial ground forces which Loreno assumed would arrive as part of a planetary invasion.

When planning the mission, Loreno's commanding officers had quickly come to the conclusion that capturing and holding the public spaceport with the limited forces available to them would be an impossible task. Only one platoon of forty stormtroopers was available for the mission. Such a small force would not be enough to capture, control and defend such a large sprawling installation.

So Major Denlin and Captain Rodano came up with an ambitious plan of deception. A platoon of female stormtroopers would disguise themselves as Alderaan military. They would take over the spaceport claiming to be members of the Alderaan defence forces. Once in control, they would oblige the civilian authorities to lock-down and evacuate the spaceport. Since all the stormtroopers were female and commanded by a female officer, it was unlikely that anyone would suspect that they were actually imperial soldiers in disguise.

Loreno reflected that this was not the first time that she had disguised herself during a mission for the Empire. About a week earlier, Loreno and some other sister troopers were ordered to infiltrated an imperial diplomatic ship and assassinate an imperial peace negotiator named Andryl Kuron. To gain access to the ship, they all had to dress up in Alderaan clothing and uniforms, pretending to be the entourage of an Alderaan government official who wished to negotiate with Kuron.

In the end, Kuron was assassinated and the mission was completed successfully. But it wasn't just Kuron who died. Loreno and her sister troopers also had to kill several imperial servants, including stormtroopers acting as Kuron's bodyguard. Because the attackers wore Alderaan uniforms, Loreno was sure that the Empire had blamed the Alderaan government for the attack.

It was the first and only time Loreno had killed loyal servants of the Empire as part of a mission. But Loreno did not regret it. She had obediently followed orders from her commanding officers, and thus, fulfilled the will of the Emperor. And for a dutiful imperial stormtrooper like Loreno, fulfilling the will of the Emperor was all that really mattered in life.

Loreno heard Caldora provide the emergency security and identification codes that gave Loreno the authority to take command of the spaceport. The success of the operation against the two spaceports and the High Council building depended on the top secret codes provided by stormtrooper high command. Loreno did not not know who had obtained the codes; whether it was the ISB, an individual agent, an Alderaan traitor or some other imperial spy. All that mattered was that the codes worked.

The personnel in the spaceport control soon recognised and acknowledged the codes. After a short wait, Caldora looked back at Loreno from her co-pilot chair.

"Lieutenant. I have director Corianna from the spaceport on the line." Loreno knew that the director was the brother of her sister-in-arms, Gloria Corianna, who was involved in the assault on the High Council building.

"Good work, Sergeant" Replied Loreno. "Patch me through."

Loreno waited a few seconds. Then a smartly dressed man appeared on the screen in front of her. Loreno could see the obvious family resemblance between director Corianna and his stormtrooper sister. Apart from that, she recognised his face from the images she had studied at her base before the mission.

Loreno knew that the man would be able to see her and her female flight-crew in their Alderaan military uniforms. That was of course what she intended. Loreno was confident that Corianna would not suspect their true identity. No one would believe that an all-female unit belonged to the imperial military, especially one commanded by a female lieutenant.

"Good day, Lieutenant Loreno." Said the man politely. "How can I be of assistance."

"Good day, director Corianna." Replied Loreno cordially "I am sure you are aware of the imperial attacks on the private spaceport and the High Council buildings in the capital city."

"Yes, lieutenant." Replied director Corianna shaking his head sombrely. "It is a great tragedy. Such unnecessary violence."

"Indeed, director." Loreno also tried to sound somber. Then she injected a sense of urgency into her voice. "Please listen, director, We don't have much time. I am in command of a reserve military unit which Bail Organa has assigned to secure and evacuate the public spaceport. I trust our emergency identification and security codes were satisfactory."

"Yes, lieutenant." The director frowned as he spoke. "But I did not realise the situation was so serious."

"I'm afraid it is, director. As you know, these codes should only be used when an imperial invasion is imminent and there is a threat of civilian casualties." Loreno spoke with urgency, trying to reflect the seriousness of the situation. "Director Corianna. We have no time to waste. We must commence the evacuation of the spaceport as soon as possible. We must act fast if we want to save lives. If the imperials attack the spaceport now, casualties will be high."

Director Corianna looked at Loreno grimly. "Yes, of course, Lieutenant. That should be avoided at all costs."

"Please provide us with coordinates near your control centre where we can land without being seen. I do not want to cause a panic among the public by walking in the front door with heavily armed soldiers. People may think an attack is imminent."

Loreno knew that she had just given Corianna a very subtle veiled threat. She had effectively confirmed to him what she would do if he did not agree to let her land near the control centre. Indeed, the original plan drawn up by Captain Rodano involved marching a squad of armed troopers dressed in Alderaan livery through the front entrance of the spaceport.

But Loreno changed that plan. She knew the Alderaan people. She realised that such an action could raise suspicion. So Loreno decided she would attempt to take control of the spaceport in a way which was more consistent with Alderaan cultural sensitivities. She would employ a tactic that was always effective when dealing with the well-mannered and amenable nature of the Alderaan people:

She would ask politely.

After all, Loreno knew that she always had the option to walk through the front door if her polite request failed. She believed she had nothing to lose in trying the polite route first.

Director Corianna hesitated a moment, looking at Loreno intently."Yes, of course, lieutenant. You are right. I will ask my people send the coordinates straight away.

"Thank you director Corianna." Replied Loreno. "I will provide you with more information when we arrive."

Loreno broke off the communication with Corianna.

"How long until we reach the spaceport, Sergeant?" Loreno asked Caldora.

"About two minutes, Lieutenant."

Loreno got up off her command chair and poked her head into the enclosed troop compartment of the airspeeder where seven female troopers wearing Alderaan military uniforms were sitting. Each one of the young women in the airspeeder could speak in a convincing Alderaan accent. They would be the vanguard of the deception operation.

"Ok, girls." Loreno smiled at them. She knew that most imperial commanders would disapprove of the causal way she led her troopers. "Get your hats on. We deploy in two minutes. We expect the enemy to be cooperative. So take no offensive action unless ordered to do so or you are fired upon. Understood?"

"Yes, lieutenant." The female troopers said in unison, smiling in return as they put on their distinctive black Alderaan helmets and checked their A280 blaster rifles.

Shortly afterwards, the military airspeeder set down in a landing bay. Loreno noticed through the windshield that a delegation of four people was waiting for them. Two of them appeared to be unarmed civilians. The other two were security guards equipped with holstered blaster pistols.

After landing, Loreno and her nine troopers exited from the airspeeder. Loreno recognised Director Corianna at the head of his delegation. Loreno walked up to him accompanied by Caldora. Loreno's troopers stood at ease behind them, their balster rifles slung casually over their shoulders.

"Good day. Lieutenant." Said Corianna bowing cordially. "I am pleased to meet you. Please let me introduce my aid, Stennis Branz."

Loreno smiled briefly and nodded at the two men. Then she spoke with a sense of urgency. "I am please to meet you too Director Corianna. But I am afraid we do not have time for niceties. I would appreciate it if you could lead us to the control centre immediately. We must secure the spaceport and commence the evacuation as soon as possible."

Lorenno knew that she had to get the right balance between being assertiveness and cordiality. She knew that too little or too much forcefulness could raise suspicion.

Yes, of course, lieutenant." Said Corianna. "Please come with me."

Corianna and his entourage led Loreno and her troopers through a door into the spaceport building. They entered a corridor with smooth white stone walls. Corianna and Loreno walked briskly together at the front. Branz and Caldora walked side-by-side behind them. Loreno's troopers and the security guards brought up the rear.

"Do you really believe that the imperials will attack this spaceport, lieutenant?" Enquired the clearly concerned Corianna as they walked down the corridor.

"We do not know for sure what their intentions are." Answered Loreno. "But the our commanders are very anxious to protect key installations and of course minimise civilian casualties. That is why they have sent us to secure, and if necessary, defend this spaceport."

"Are there more of you on the way?" Asked Corianna. "There are so few of you."

Loreno smiled. "We are just an advanced party. The rest of my platoon will be here soon. My commanding officer has indicated that more reinforcements will arrive in due course as soon as they can be mobilised and transported here."

Loreno was speaking with complete sincerity. Of course, when she spoke of reinforcements, she really meant imperial reinforcements.

"In the media, I heard that that most of the military were heading towards the combat zones in the city." commented Corianna. "I didn't think they would have anyone spare for this installation."

"All combat troops have been sent to the combat zones." Confirmed Loreno. "But we are a reserve unit of female soldiers, director. That it why we have been assigned to a location away from the fighting."

"Yes, I understand, lieutenant."

Loreno threw a brief smile at Corianna. "Our commanders here on Alderaan may be quicker to recognise the talents and contribution of women in the military, especially compared to imperial forces. However, even here on Alderaan, there are commanders who are reluctant to send women into battle."

"Yes, naturally." Said Corianna.

They reached an area with three lifts. Loreno and two troopers accompanied Corianna in one of the lifts. The fact that Corianna had entered the lift alone with Loreno and two of her armed sister troopers gave her confidence that he was starting to trust her.

"I was not aware that there was an all female unit in the Alderaan military." Corianna sounded intrigued.

"We are a very new unit and officially still in training." Responded Loreno. "That is why we have been allocated to reserve duty. But of course, every one of us would prefer to be fighting our treacherous enemy on the front lines."

"What is the name of your unit if you don't mind me asking." Asked Corianna as the lift started to move up.

"We are the First Company of the Royal Princess Leia Organa battalion." Loreno did her best to speak with pride she didn't feel. "Viceroy Organa founded our unit in honour of his deceased daughter, Princess Leia Organa."

Corianna's eyes widened in surprise. "Is it true that she is really dead?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so, director." Loreno nodded sombrely. "We had been sworn to secrecy. But now that Alderaan and the Empire are destined to be at war, it won't be long before the news is formally made known."

"We had heard rumours. But none of us wanted to believe them." Corianna shook his head. "I am very saddened to hear the news."

"Believe me, director. Every woman in my platoon dearly wishes that Princess Leia Organa was with us now." Of course, Loreno was imagining Leia standing against a wall in front of a firing squad.

Loreno looked into Corianna's eyes, passion and determination resounding in her voice. "But at least we shall be able to serve a good and just cause in her name. I can assure you that the name Organa is an inspiration to all of us."

"Yes, I am sure it is." Corianna nodded sombrely at Loreno and the two smiling female troopers standing in front of him.

The lift came to a stop and everyone exited. After walking down another corridor, Corianna showed Loreno into his office. Loreno explained to Corianna that he should take the necessary steps to evacuate and lock-down the spaceport as soon as possible. Corianna enquired politely if that was really necessary.

"Should we not keep the spaceport in operation in case we have to evacuate people from the combat area?"

Loreno shook her head. "If the imperials believe the spaceport is in operation, they are likely to attack it to prevent members of the government from using it to flee. Believe me, director, unless you evacuate and lock-down the spaceport immediately, you wil risk turning this place into a bloodbath."

Loreno was speaking with sincerity. If Corianna refused to carry out her request voluntarily, she would have to take the spaceport by force. Then there would likely be a bloodbath, caused by the troopers under Loreno's command.

Corianna looked intently at Loreno for a moment, as if pondering her words and his options. Then he nodded with a resigned expression on his face.

"Yes, of course, you are right, Lieutenant. I will order the evacuation straight away."

"That is a wise decision, director." Innerly, Loreno sighed with relief. She was willing to take the control centre by force if she had to. But she preferred to avoid it if she could. She sincerley believed that occupying the spaceport peacefully was the most effective and least risky way to achieve her mission objective.

Loreno went to leave the room. "I will assign sergeant Caldora and six of my troopers to assist with the evacuation and lock-down in the public areas of the spaceport."

For a second, Corianna seemed to hesitate. But then he nodded his head again. "Thankyou, Lieutenant. I am grateful for your assistance."

Loreno knew she was taking a risk in sending away most of her squad. It only left her with two troopers in the control room area until the rest of her platoon arrived. If Corianna ordered his armed security to attack Loreno and her two guards, they would probably not stand a chance.

However, Loreno was confident that Corianna would not try anything. She was sure that sending Caldora and her troopers to help with the evacuation would help reassure the civilians that they were indeed from the Alderaan military. In addition, she was certain that the evacuation would go quicker and smoother if her troopers were there to oversee it.

Loreno issued Caldora with her orders. Caldora left and led her six troopers away to the public area of the spaceport. Loreno was confident that they would be able to pass themselves off as rebel troopers reasonably well. Caldora's squad had received special training to interact with Alderaan civilians and security forces for this mission. Most imperial commanders would regard such training as unworthy of an imperial stormtrooper. Others would even regarded it as subersive and treasounous. But Loreno believed that the provision of such training had significantly increased their chances of successfully achieving the mission objective.

Loreno knew that sergeant Caldora was a good organiser. She was also charismatic and disturbingly good at pretending to be a rebel. If things went well, Loreno believed that Caldora would even be able to persuade some of the spaceport security to fight for them.

After Caldora left, Corianna led Loreno and her two remaining troopers to the control room.

"If the imperials attack, will you really be able to defend it with only one platoon?"

"We will defend this installations with our lives, director." Loreno looked grimly at Corianna. "But if the imperials are determined to take this place, I doubt that there is anything that will stop them."

"Yes, I understand, Lieutenant."

After entering the control room, Corianna announced to his personnel that in light of the recent imperial attacks in the capital city, Lieutenant Loreno had taken over full command of the Spaceport. As a result, all spaceport personnel and security should obey her instructions. He ordered his personnel to commence the emergency evacuation and lock-down procedures without delay. Only a skeleton staff of key personnel would remain to oversee critical systems and security in the spaceport.

Shortly afterwards, the evacuation was in full flow as members of the public and non-essential personnel made their way out of the spaceport. Loreno observed Corianna and his personnel in the control room as they efficiently coordinated and executed the evacuation and lock-down procedures.

Loreno observed the progress of the evacuation through the control room monitors and status reports forwarded to her by spaceport personnel. She was impressed with the way that the Alderaan public accepted the evacuation order obediently and without question. Everyone quickly and calmly made their way to their exits without complaint. That did not surprise Loreno. She always believed that the Alderannians were in principle a law-abiding people who would gladly demonstrate obedience to the Emperor if they were free of the corrupt and deceitful band of traitors who sat in the Alderaan High Council.

After about ten minutes, the control centre received a communication from the rest of Loreno's platoon who were on their way in a military airspeeder transport. The stern face of sergeant-major Suzie Samson appeared on one of the communication monitors. As expected, she was wearing the uniform of the Alderaan military. Loreno permitted Corianna to stand beside her as she spoke to Samson.

"Sergeant-Major Samson. What is your status?"

"We are about five minutes out, lieutenant." Responded Samson formally. "What are your instruction?"

"Everything is going to schedule. The spaceport has commenced evacuation and lock-down procedures as per the orders of high command. We shall give you coordinates near the control centre. A delegation of spaceport personnel will greet you and escort you here."

"Yes, lieutenant. Message understood."

Loreno knew that there were thirty armoured female stormtroopers in the back of the airspeeder who were ready to storm the control centre by force if required. But by telling Samson that everything was going to schedule, Loreno had confirmed by coded message that no offensive action was required. In consequence, Samson would immeditely order her stormtroopers to remove their armour and change into their Alderaan military uniforms.

If Loreno had instructed Samson to follow the 'original' plan or there was no communication from Loreno, Samson would know that the plan to take the spaceport peacefully had failed. In that case, Samson and her stormtroopers would have landed at a predetermined location and attempted to take the control centre by force. Loreno reflected that, fortunately, such action would not be necessary.

Loreno turned to Corianna. "Director Corianna. I would be grateful if you would you send down a delegation to greet the rest of my platoon at the landing area and escort them here.'

"Yes, of course, lieutenant." Corianna bowed his head in acquiescence. "I will send down Mr Branz and two of my staff to welcome them."

A few minutes later, Branz and two members of staff were standing at the landing zone beside the airspeeder transport waiting for Loreno's troopers to disembark.

Loreno and Corianna watched the spaceport civilians wait patiently outside the enclosed airspeeder through one of the control room monitors. As the minutes passed, Loreno started to become concerned that the delay may cause Corianna to become suspicious. Loreno knew that her troopers would need some time to change from their stormtrooper armour into their equipment. So she decided to offer an explication.

"I apologise for the delay, director. My unit had to load up the transport in great haste. They will need time to organise themselves and unload it."

"Would you like my personnel to help your troopers unload. They will be glad to help if they can."

"That will not be necessary, director." Loreno replied firmly. "I am sure they will be ready soon. And it may be dangerous for your personnel to handle military equipment."

"Of course, lieutenant."

A few minutes later, the female troopers from Loreno's platoon began to file out of the transport in their Alderaan uniforms. Most carried A280 blaster rifles. But a few also carried communications equipment and heavy weapons such as rocket launchers and portable heavy blasters.

Unlike Caldora's squad, Samson's troopers had not received special training to deal with the spaceport personnel. Like Samson, they all looked a little too stern-faced and disciplined for Loreno's liking. Also, only the NCOs could speak in an Alderaan accent. So only the NCO's would be permitted to interact with the spaceport personnel. The regular troopers were instructed to remain silent unless orders or the situation demanded otherwise. Loreno knew it was not an ideal situation. But she could only work with what she had available.

When the troopers arrived in the control centre, Loreno assigned them to their duties around the spaceport. She assigned some to stand guard in and around the control room. She sent some troopers to set up defensive positons at choke points around the control centre area.

Samson approached Loreno and asked to speak to her in private. They found a small office to speak alone.

"When are we going to liquidate the civilians, lieutenant?" Asked Samson coldly.

"We aren't." Replied Loreno.

"But, lieutenant. Our orders are to eliminate any potential hostile forces."

"That is correct, sergeant-major. But I do not regard the civilians as hostile forces. They are cooperating and under control."

"But, sir. We are deviating from the original plan."

In reality, Samson's objection could have been regarded as sign of disobendience for many stormtrooper commanders. But Loreno believed in letting her subordinates speak freely. Not least because many of them had more experience than she did.

"Yes, we are deviating from the plan, sergeant-major. I have decided to change it."

"But, sir. Our orders..."

"Our orders, sergeant-major, are to secure this installation until relieved by imperial forces by any means necessary. We have successfully done that. I see no reason to liquidate anyone at this moment."

"But what if they try to contact the rebels?"

"We shall take measures to ensure they don't. Otherwise, we will deal with them as required."

"But, lieutenant..."

"I have made my decision, sergeant-major. The civilians will remain unharmed unless they commit an overtly hostile act or I say otherwise. That is an order, sergeant-major Samson. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Understood."

Loreno knew that Samson was frustrated. Samson wanted to be in the heat of the battle with her sisters in the High Council Building or the Private Spaceport. She wanted to fight the enemies of the Emperor gloriously in battle. But instead she found herself in an enemy uniform, baby-sitting civilians with no enemy to fight. Samson knew she had been assigned to this mission because she was from Alderaan. And for that reason she felt like she was being punished. Which of course was not the case.

Loreno did not really like Samson as a person. In Loreno's opinion, Samson was too cold, humourless, arrogant, unimaginative and ruthless, even by the standards of imperial stormtroopers. But despite Samson's faults, Loreno was glad to have her as second-in-command. If nothing else, Samson was a good fighter and tactician on the battlefield. If the rebels attacked, she knew that Samsons leadership and combat experience would be invaluable.

With her full platoon in place, Loreno imposed full control on the control centre.

Loreno ordered restrictions on the movements of the few civilian personnel who remained in the control centre. With the pretext of maintaining tight security and secrecy, she insisted that all civilians should remain in specific controlled areas.

Loreno prohibited all communication with anyone outside the spaceport unless she authorised it. The reason Loreno gave to Corianna was that she wanted the enemy to believe that the installation was no longer in operation and thus not worth attacking. But the real reason for the restriction was that Loreno did not want the civilian personnel in the control centre exchanging information on her platoon with others from the outside. That would only encourage unwanted speculation, curiosity and ultimately suspicion.

On the other hand, Loreno was happy for the civilians to receive incoming news bulletins from outside. She believed that the rolling news and speculation on the stormtrooper attacks in the capital city would keep the civilians in a state of fear and anxiety. That would encourage the civilians to trust in Loreno's Alderann troopers for their protection and security. And that could only help guarantee their continued cooperation and obedience.

Loreno also ordered Samson and a group of four troopers to take over the security room where the images from all the security cameras were relayed. They sent away all security guards who were based in the control centre, either redeploying them to other parts of the spaceport or sending them home as part of the evacuation. As from that moment, Loreno and her sister troopers would be the only armed personnel in the control centre area of the spaceport.

Corianna reluctantly accepted all Loreno's decisions. But when she also assigned a 'bodyguard' detail of two troopers to Corianna for his 'protection', he made his first real effort to object.

"Is that really necessary, lieutenant?" He asked.

"Yes, director." Answered Loreno. "You are critical to the operation of this installation. So I must insist."

Reluctantly, Corianna agreed. Although both he and Loreno knew that he had no choice but to accept.

An hour later, the lock-down and evacuation had almost been completed. Loreno and Samson received a communication from Sergeant Caldora. They went to the security room to receive a status report from her where they would not be overheard or observed by Corianna or other control centre personnel. Caldora's face appeared on one of the monitors. She was standing beside one of the few Alderaan secrity officers who had volunteered to stay behind to help with the defence of the spaceport.

"The main public areas of the spaceport are now evacuated and locked-down." Said Caldora. "We are now returning to the control centre to set up defensive positions. The spaceport security will form a first line of defence outside the spaceport should the enemy attack. Sergeant Jannis here and his men here have agreed to serve under our orders."

"Good work, sergeant."

Loreno was impressed with Caldora's persuasive abilities. If the rebels came to retake the spaceport, they would initially come under fire from their own compatriots in the spaceport security.

"When the bucket-heads come." Caldora grinned widely at the security guard standing beside her. "We'll give them a hell of a welcome." The security guard grinned back and nodded enthusiatically.

Samson's face went grim with fury. Loreno smiled, realising that Samson had not recognised the ambiguity of Caldora's statement.

"Carry on sergeant." Said Loreno. Caldora's face disappeared from the monitor.

"I will reprimand her for that." Said Samson after Caldora's face disappeared from the screen. "I will put her up for administrative punishment."

"No you won't." Replied Loreno. "Caldora has played the role she needs to play. I will commend her for her performance when this mission is complete."

Samson looked at her darkly, but said nothing. Loreno smiled innerly at Samson. Loreno knew that Caldora and her sister troopers would have to tolerate and even make derogatory comments about the Empire to gain the trust of the people they had to work with. It was a regrettable but necessary evil for the greater good.

Loreno returned to the main contol room. Status reports confirmed that the lock-down and evacuation was now complete. Otherwise, all was calm. The first stage of the mission was over. Now, all Loreno and her sister troopers had to do now was wait. Wait for imperial reinforcements to relieve them.

Wait for imperial reinforcements that would never arrive.

* * *

**Author's note: Many thanks to author Ladyofdarkstar for allowing me to mention her OC Andryl Kuron in this story.**

**The incident where Kuron is assassinated also features in her story Family Ties II. I recommend that story as it portrays an interesting reflection of the political manoeuvring and conspiracy that is standard fare at the high end of imperial society. It also crosses over with this story.**

**I hope to describe the actual events of the Kuron assassination in a later chapter.**


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